Can There Be Too Much Oxygen In The Water?

[tangelo123]

I'm trying to encourage growth in my gf so I rigged up this semi-elaborate airstone arrangement at the surface of my tank to add some extra O2 and I wondered if there would be any adverse effects.

[~SHAWNA~]

Water can absorb many, many things, including oxygen. Although water can absorb too much of many things (heavy metals, nitrates, and even too many hydrogen ions), I do not know there to be such thing as too much oxygen. With excessive movement of the water in your tank, the only thing that I might worry about is that your fish still have a space to "relax" and not have to be fighting any currents all of the time. This "relaxed"| space can be created with the addition of rocks, driftwood and even lots of plant foliage.

[Erinaceus]

As far as I know, goldfish can only 'overdose' on oxygen if they start swallowing air bubbles, and even then it isn't the hyperoxia, but rather the intake of air into the intestines that's the main problem. So if your fish don't do this, and when taking into account Schawna's comments, I doubt it would pose a problem.

[tangelo123]

When I say it's an elaborate setup I mean it's elaborate for me. I just split an airline and have 2 airstones just below the surface. Just enough to agitate the surface. They're almost invisible unless you look up into the tank. The fish like it so far but here's no extra current.

[Erinaceus]

I would expect a bubble wand or wall to produce much more bubbles/aeration than 2 simple bubblers, especially if they are located near to the surface, so I don't think you need to worry about having more than one bubbler in your tank.

[tangelo123]

I would expect a bubble wand or wall to produce much more bubbles/aeration than 2 simple bubblers, especially if they are located near to the surface, so I don't think you need to worry about having more than one bubbler in your tank.

I forgot to mention that I also have an 8in bubble bar in the tank with the 2 air stones. I've got the air stones near the surface cuz I thought surface agitation put more O2 in the water than anything. I know that's not too many bubblers I was just curious if having more than the usual amount of O2 would have any negative effects. I might add even more if I can swing it!

On a slightly related topic I just bought an airpod 55g air pump and it is sweet! I was gonna go with a cheaper one but the guy at my lfs plugged it in and I couldn't even hear it running so that sold it for me.

Edited July 27, 2008 by tangelo123

[Erinaceus]

I forgot to mention that I also have an 8in bubble bar in the tank with the 2 air stones. I've got the air stones near the surface cuz I thought surface agitation put more O2 in the water than anything. I know that's not too many bubblers I was just curious if having more than the usual amount of O2 would have any negative effects. I might add even more if I can swing it!

Actually, I would think that having it on the bottom would have the biggest effect, because the bubbles travel a longer distance through the water, therefore having more time to pass their oxygen to the tank water, and still create a relatively large amount of surface agitation once they reach the top. (that just my own impression though)

On a slightly related topic I just bought an airpod 55g air pump and it is sweet! I was gonna go with a cheaper one but the guy at my lfs plugged it in and I couldn't even hear it running so that sold it for me.

Congrats, and make sure you post some pics .

[tangelo123]

Yeah I don't really know which would be better, having a bubbler at the top or bottom of the tank.

Here's a couple pics of my new air compressor...

You can see one of the airstones in the upper left corner of the tank...

You seriously can't even tell it's on...

Edited July 29, 2008 by tangelo123

[lynda441]

Hey! Tangelo! That's one fine looking asian arch you have there! Deja vu! lol! Glad you were able to find one! I like the little fence/wall thing too! Cute!

[thoughtsofjoy]

I'm gonna go ahead and put in my here.

I just learned some really interesting things from Rick Hess and Dr. Erik Johnson's Fancy Goldfish book about airstones and current.

"Oxygen enters the water at the surface, where the tank water and the air in the room meet. Agitation of the surface creates exchange between these two media, and oxygen is mixed into the water." The bubbles do not pass oxygen themselves! Only the surface.

You want to have the airstones at the bottom of your tank because as the bubbles rise, they push a column of water to the top of the tank. They circulate the water in the tank rather than directly oxygenate it. The bubble columns bring deoxygenated water to the surface to become reoxygenated, in the same way that the heart pumps blood to the lungs for the same reason.

So you can't really overoxygenate your water using airstones. You can, however, as Shawna mentioned, cause a surplus of current. You want to make sure there is a quiet spot in the tank where your fish can rest when they sleep.

[Erinaceus]

"Oxygen enters the water at the surface, where the tank water and the air in the room meet. Agitation of the surface creates exchange between these two media, and oxygen is mixed into the water." The bubbles do not pass oxygen themselves! Only the surface.

Interesting and useful to know . Giving what we get taught about diffusion and the way respiration works, I would think there'd be at least some passing of oxygen by the bubbles themselves. For instance, some spiders that live part of the time underwater, tend to have a air bubble as an 'oxygen backpack', but the oxygens kind of 'leaks' into the water, reducing the size of the bubble before it is actually all used up (which, I'd think, is also the reason why air bubbles that stick to the side of a tank tend to disappear by themselves). Even so, it may be that the bubbles from a bubbles simply don't spend enough time in the water to pass any noticable amount of oyxgen to the tank water. That's probably what was meant, I'd think .

[thoughtsofjoy]

Even so, it may be that the bubbles from a bubbles simply don't spend enough time in the water to pass any noticable amount of oyxgen to the tank water.

You can achieve the same effect as a bubble wand or airstone by placing a powerhead on the bottom of your tank with the output facing upwards.

[tangelo123]

Hey! Tangelo! That's one fine looking asian arch you have there! Deja vu! lol! Glad you were able to find one! I like the little fence/wall thing too! Cute!

Thanks! Wonder where I got that idea... Those arches are hard to find! That bamboo fence thingie is my fishes' favorite spot to hang out now; I got it on sale from Big Al's.

[tangelo123]

I'm gonna go ahead and put in my here.

I just learned some really interesting things from Rick Hess and Dr. Erik Johnson's Fancy Goldfish book about airstones and current.

"Oxygen enters the water at the surface, where the tank water and the air in the room meet. Agitation of the surface creates exchange between these two media, and oxygen is mixed into the water." The bubbles do not pass oxygen themselves! Only the surface.

You want to have the airstones at the bottom of your tank because as the bubbles rise, they push a column of water to the top of the tank. They circulate the water in the tank rather than directly oxygenate it. The bubble columns bring deoxygenated water to the surface to become reoxygenated, in the same way that the heart pumps blood to the lungs for the same reason.

So you can't really overoxygenate your water using airstones. You can, however, as Shawna mentioned, cause a surplus of current. You want to make sure there is a quiet spot in the tank where your fish can rest when they sleep.

That was my reasoning for putting the airstones at the top of the tank, to agitate the surface and to also keep some clam spots in the tank.

So oxygen is only diffused at the surface but it's still a good idea to have the bubbles travel from the bottom to the top of the tank to recycle the unoxygenated water. Very informative! Thanks!