Thread: plant oxygen
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Old 19-08-2005, 01:08 PM
DanRad
 
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You really have two issues he

1. oxygen

2. plants

The most important source of oxygen for your fish is through the
exchange of gases with the air at the water's surface. An important
factor is the ratio of surface area to water volume. There is an optimal
formula for this, but I forget what it is. In any event, we have
mechanical options to help. The main thing, going back to the surface
gas exchange, is to create some movement on the surface to break up the
"adhesive" quality of the water molecules. Power filters provide good
breakup of the surface tension, as can the spray bars of cannister
filters. Bubble wands are also useful in creating "updrafts" of water to
the surface that release CO2 and facilitates oxygen being dissolved into
the water. Power heads can also be used. If you're interested in plants,
the bubble wand works against you, in that it helps release CO2 that the
plants could otherwise use.

Plants do, as we learned in school, absorb CO2 and release O2. Don't
forget though, that with the lights off, photosynthesis ceases, and
plants use oxygen and release CO2 just like the rest of us. A small
benefit of plants is that they do absorb some nitrates.

Now, as to keeping oscars or most other big cichlids in a planted
aquarium, the best thing I can say is, good luck. I have had some luck
when putting the fish in a tank with established plants, but only as
long as the fish (oscars, severums, Uarus, etc) were small. When they
got their growth, life became much tougher for the plants. The ones they
didn't shred they eventually dug up. Others on this forum say they keep
plants with fully grown O's; I have not been able to.



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