does wave maker affect life span of fish? and air stone question.

limal17

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#1
hello there I have a tank with no wave makers and I heard a guy say that without the wave makers in my tank that the fishes die at a young age because the lack of water motion in the tank? Is this true? The only thing I will in my tank will be clownfish and i was hoping i didn't have to buy wave makers.

Another question is since I don't have wave makers or an airstone but I do have 2 180 gallon capacity over the back filters in my 70 gallon tank. Does the water coming back into my tank have enough oxygen for the fish to be fine or will I need to add an air stone?
 
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#2
Aquriums have been around a very long time. Use to be all filters were air powered. Even hang on backs used air to push the water up the tube to the filter then it would just overflow back into tank. Under gravel filters too used to be only air powered having the airstones at the bottom of the tube drawing water through the sand then up the tube. Air flow in water is a more powerful than people think. Then came powerheads people attached to these filters making them more efficient. The action of water falling into the tank adds enough oxygen. Proof is in the millions of people keeping fish like this for years. Would an airstone be beneficial? Of course. An air stone or bar properly placed in a tank will create great additional flow as well as dissolved oxygen without the need of a Powerhead.

You're running an undrilled system with out a sump? No HOB skimmer? If you run an HOB skimmer that will provide more than enough oxygen to your system. If I were you and this is how I intended to do my system with HOBs, I'd do one filter and a skimmer.

Now for water flow. A 70 g is a pretty big tank. You don't mention or have pictures of rock work or sand or mention of corals. Your rock work will deflect flow cascading from the rear to the front of your tank making things and detritus settle in front of it where flow is low. You'll want something to create a sweeping flow across the front of the rockscape to kid the up to make it to the filter be it a Powerhead or a long airstone in the rear making water flow roll the water up over the top and down the front sweeping this settlement back into the flow to be filtered. Whole purpose of water flow, letting nothing settle and getting it to the filter.

Obviously you've been looking at setups like this on the web or you wouldn't think of doing it this way. Totally acceptable and part of the hobby. Using different methods of achieving desired results. If you see others having success this way and that's how you want to go. Don't let others decide a different path for you. Because there'll be those that tell you it won't work and you need to spend thousands of dollars to have a good set up.

Remember, it's not so much of keeping the inhabitants as it is keeping the habitat they live in.
 

limal17

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#3
@skywag

Thank you for all of the insight and I will really try to get a skimmer in add more filtration and to add more oxygen in the tank. I will post a picture of the tank as soon as a I can. I have no corals because I'm still doing research and how to take care of them but I'm getting there. I have kept fishes for a year with just HOB filters and never had a problem. I think i will need the powerbeads in the front because of my rock work.
 
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#4
Don't know if picture will work. This was a 30g, first reef tank I had with skimmer only because I read and was told back then a good skimmer was all I'd need and monthly water changes. Then I was told to add a canister filter by someone for mechanical filtration. So i did. Then someone told me I shoud add a powerhead, and I did. Saw no real improvement of it as I remember.
But ever since and six reefs later I still run powerheads on my tanks. Currently have 45 gallons and running two plus my return.

This little 30g and a 19 gallon with nothing but an Aquatop HOB filter I had for a while are the only two tanks I never had a algae battle in. Even those with the most elaborate set ups have algae problems at times. It's all about keeping the water.

9-1-09009 (1).jpg
 

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