14 Equipment: Air Pumps
Description
This article is from the Beginning Fishkeeping FAQ, by Thomas Narten with numerous contributions by others.
14 Equipment: Air Pumps
An air pump simply bubbles air through your tank. Air pumps serve two
purposes. First, they insure that your tank maintains an adequate
concentration of oxygen. An air pump is NOT required for this purpose,
as long as your tank maintains adequate water movement together with
surface agitation. This is generally the case if external (e.g., box
or cannister) filters are used. Second, air pumps can be used to force
water through a filter (e.g., sponge or corner filter). If using a
UGF, for example, an air pump produces bubbles that force water up the
uplift tubes, pulling water through the filter. In larger tanks,
powerheads perform the same function. Thus, an air pump is not
required, provided your tank has good water circulation.
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