I have a ten gallon tank with a hob filter which Im pretty sure has no wheel of anykind...anyways I think I need more aeration like and air pump or something but I dont know what. These airstones/bubble curtain/wands etc would require having tubes coming out of my tank to a pump right? How to you keep the tubes in place and not just running through the middle of your tank? Is there something that I could use with the same effect that like stuck to the side of the tank like more towards the top of the tank and moved the water on the surface? Would that still aerate the tank? Also would'nt the bubbles from those things make noise and disturb all the decor and such in the tank? Help!

firstly calm down, your gonna be okay, you found kokos and there are tons and tons of people to help! -hugs- second an established filter is more important than areation, and as for air pumps I have yet to find a quiet one but as for your question if you choose to get a bubble wall, placing it just below the surface gives you the benifet of the airation without the extra current, what kind of fish is in the tank, and has the tank cycled?

one blackmoor and a pleco, probably not gonna keep the pleco (got some bad advice on that one, and he doesnt do much) and maybe after the tank is more established get another moor or an oranda..no the tank has not cycled yet, I started it about two days ago and just added the fish today so I'm in the first week. And as for the filter I'm concerned about it too, a posted a post about it as well but since you asked I'll tell you too. It came with the tank and I cant seem to find any info about how much water it circulates in an hour and considering it came with the tank and the whole setup was only about $40 and it has no bio wheel or such it cant be too great, I dont have alot of space for something really good though and I'm also concerned that if I buy a different one I might have to get a new hood too because it might not fit or something like that....oh and thanks for the reasurrance and hug I never thought I would get this worked pu about a fish but I really wanna do everything right from the get go...

well there is a 1 fish per 10 gallon rule of thumb, no more than one goldfish per ten gallons of water, as for the filter, It is most likely rated about 100 gallons per hour, If you feel uncomfortable about it, you can purchase a second filter, I am used to powerfilters and I must admit I dont know much about bio wheels but you should be fine with a powerfilter with the right amount of filtration, as a rule of thumb for filtration i try to go for about twice as much as the gallonage, you will want the water to cycle out 8-10 times per hour. get some testing supplies, ammonia and nitrates and nitrites especialy as those are the most toxic and dangerous to fish. I have three moors myself and tried to stick them in a ten gallon. . . . Bad Idea. . . the thing to remember is most if not all varietys of goldfish get to be about 6 inches long when fully mature.

thanks for the info...I've got the test stuff and i guess I'll just go with what I've got filter wise for now and if it looks like its gonna be a problem I start looking for something else...thanks again

I am going to pop on into this discussion and suggest some reading material here on Koko's for you.... there are some truly wonderful articles. Please excuse me if you have already seen them!

This is a great general article:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=11275

More general stuff:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/care.html

Cycling:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html

As far as air in the water, if your filter (an AquaClear if I recall, correct?) has a "waterfall" effect, falling onto the surface of the water, most likely you will be just fine without an air feature. Most air features are for the asthetics in the tank - that and the mechanical work they do.

The bubbles themselves impart only a little oxygen into the water. The more surface area of the bubbles, the more oxygen they can get into your water - so millions of tiny bubbles are better than a few large ones - but the main purpose for the air feature is to lift the water from the bottom of the tank, to the surface, turning the water over and circulating it well. As the water is lifted from the bottom of the tank to the surface it will pick up oxygen at the surface far more efficiently than it does from the surfaces of the tiny bubbles.

The waterfall effect of the filter also picks up the water from the intake at the bottom of the tank and splashes it across the surface. This agitation imparts a tremendous amount of air into the water. It should be sufficiant for most any needs you have in a tiny 10 gallon tank.

Some medications make it necessary to add extra oxygen to the water, but, by and large, you are probably OK to not have an air feature if you do not wish one at this time.

Dayrl The wise has spoken :worship lol

Daryl..you are so helpful...once again you answered a question I had..thanks!