oxygen pump

[discuz]

Do discus tank need oxygen pump?

[Eddie]

Do discus tank need oxygen pump?

They do need some amount of o2, yes. Are air pumps a requirement, not at all. Some people rely on surface agitation alone, like water output from a filter/powerhead.

[ericatdallas]

I would recommend it ... it's cheap. I accidentally disconnected mine a couple of times and in the morning I found my discus breathing at the top of the tank. I keep two filters too so there should be plenty of agitation. My theory why this wasn't enough is because I also keep my tank tightly covered (glass tops) sealed almost completely from edge-to-edge. There is a slight gap due to the HOB filter which I assumed would be enough.

Surface area, agitation, temperature, and bio-load all affect how much oxygen is in the water.

About an hour or so after I brought the air pump online the discus were happily swimming around the tank again.

However, I think if you use something like egg crate/light diffuser as some people do (or anything that allows for a lot of air flow), you probably won't need the air pump if you have something else that disturbs the surface of the water.

[discuz]

thank you