Hi.
I have had my small aquarium setup for 6 months now with just a standard water filter which has been doing a great job but now Im thinking of getting an Air pump but do I really need one and what is its intended job?

I am also thinking of adding some live plants into my tank, will an air pump be needed to help them grow or am I talking complete non-sense

Thanks

Air pumps are recommended, but if your are putting in plants then
maybe not. The bubbly action draws the CO2 out of the water, and
plants need CO2 to breath. The big thing is having enough plants
to produce the needed amount of O2 for the fish. I'm not sure on
how much O2 a plant produces. Goldies have a high oxygen demand,
plus they munch on certain plants pretty hard.

For the moment I would go with a pump. If nothing else, after switching
to plants, you have one on hand for a hospital tank.

How big a tank do you have? I'll do some poking around unless another
member has any suggestions.

Hi thanks for replying...

My tank is only small. its 12" x 8" x 8" and that is the reason why I haven't used an air pump before now because its so small. I don't want to disrupt the water flow too much and find my fish pinballing around the tank. If I can get a pump cheap enough then I will get one and if it isn't any good I can always keep it for when I upgrade my tank. They are being sold on ebay but Im still not sure what air pump to for. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
B)

Here's a link that goes over all the good and bad about air pumps.

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/...p?article_id=84

Hey,
For a while i just had a filter in my tank with my two fish. It kept the tank real clean and stuff. But with an oxygen pump my fish seem miles happier and the tank looks better as well. The enjoy swimming through the bubbles and seem healthier.
Happy Hunting!
Abz