Air Curtains in Salt FO tanks

[Anonymous]

The other day I bought a air curtain for my 90 gal. I need 1 one more for the other side. I ask another LFS and said they are bad for FO tanks because the small air bubbles are bad for salt water fish. Is this true. Does anyone have this in their tank.

 

[Robin Goodfellow]

hi.
For seahorse, I heard bubble is a problem, but don't know about other fish.

IME, I never lost a fish due to bubble problem, but air-curtain and air stone typically not a good idea in a saltwater tank unless you don't care about salt creep and salt spray.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, it'll look great next to the sunken diver/treasure chest that opens with bubbles. :roll:

Seriously, there are a whole litany of reasons to not do a bubble-wand in a salt tank. Some species of fish (couldn't tell you which off the top of my head) have troubles with very fine bubbles (what you'd get off of the bubble-mist sort of devices) getting lodged in their gills and eventually causing infection. Skittish fish are often stressed out by the 'over stimulation' of an extreme amount of bubbles in the water column. At the surface you'll basically turn a section of your tank into a form of protein skimmer and end up with salt spray and weak foam all over the inside of your canopy, your lights, down the back and sides of your tank, etc.

Most people put their skimmer in the sump and then a whole series of baffles to eliminate air bubbles. :|

 

[AllenF]

I didnt know this. My fluval return is very near the surface and at a 90degree angle to a Maxijet 1200. This cause a great deal of surface agitation and lots of bubbles in the tank. i dont notice the noise/ugly look of it because it is on a timer from 6P to 12A is shut off.

I always assumed this helped keep the Dissolved Oxygen saturation at near 100% and was healthy for the fish.

Should I lower the fluval return???

 

[MattM]

I always assumed this helped keep the Dissolved Oxygen saturation at near 100% and was healthy for the fish.

The saturation level for oxygen in saltwater is pretty low. If you have a functioning protein skimmer you should be at that level with no additional bubbles required.

An additional problem is that bubbles tend to collect under rock work, essentially leaving the underside of the rock out of water. No need to tell you what effect this has on sponges and other organisms that used to live there.

 

[Robin Goodfellow]

...essentially leaving the underside of the rock out of water...

hi.
Not to nickpicking on it, but bubble have an interface layer unless it is very large such that the surface tension broke. So it is not as bad as if the rock is out of water. Any way, it is not a good idea for most sponge.

 

[Robin Goodfellow]

hi.

... sorry Matt, I guess I am a real PITA to you some of the time...

 

[Anonymous]

hi.

... sorry Matt, I guess I am a real PITA to you some of the time...

Not just to Matt!


(kidding!!!! )

 

[Chooch]

I would also be concerned about salt creep from the mist created by these bubbles. Could be a real mess to keep clean and cause some damage too.

 

[Leopardshark]

don´t do it man!!! the salt creep is going to drive you nuts, and BTW it doesn´t look any cool though
Marco

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks,this answered my question. I thought when I was told this I thought the guy was crazy. But this pretty much wraps it up. I will take it out. This is what is nice about reefs.org.Any questions quick answeres. Thanks

 

[MattM]

... but bubble have an interface layer unless it is very large such that the surface tension broke.

For a single bubble, yes. But I said "bubbles tend to collect" -- All those little bubbles add up over time to form large air pockets under the rocks.

That's what I was referring to.

sorry Matt, I guess I am a real PITA to you some of the time

Nothing wrong with keeping the conversation lively!