Can I put a bubbler in an axolotl tank?

[AllTheBest4Axi]

I'm upgrading my axi to a 29 gal and I just bought a decoration of sorts that has tubing to hook up an air stone. It's charming and while I'd like to set up an air pump, I know they can't have strong currents.
I've read different things about air pumps. Do you use an air pump in your axolotl's tank?

 

[FX1C]

I use a golf ball air stone with a "tap" in the airline so its adjustable flow, I have it on fairly low but still gently bubbling suspended just about the ground & my axie has always loved swimming into the bubbles & I've even found him sitting on the air stone wedged behind the air hose - I of course panicked & "rescued" the axie... Only to have him swim straight back there sitting under it is a favorite spot too! I'm also running another airline (with adjustment tap) to a sponge filter & it also produces a stream of bubbles. They aren't troubled by the small amount of flow from both these.






<3 >o_o< <3

 

[NeekaLovesYou]

Air stones are fine in axolotl tanks but a valve on the air line is definitely something to invest in; 1 to calm the outflow and 2, without a valve, I've found they can being pretty noisy! Ornaments needing an airline for that "bubbling" effect shouldn't be an issue within an axolotl tank. Just check for any sharp or jagged edges before placing it in the tank and sand them down if needs be.

 

[AllTheBest4Axi]

Okay thanks!
I just have your run of the mill air stones--will the air flow be too strong? Would it make a difference if I used an air pump for a smaller tank?
Btw, love your tank set up. That's the sort of thing I wanted to do, but I decided to go with a Greek ruins kind of thing.

 

[NeekaLovesYou]

As far as I was aware you need an air pump to work an air stone. My air pump set up is pretty basic and does the job. Air pumps connected to the mains wall socket, small air line connecting the pump to the valve, long airline connecting the valve to the stone that goes in the tank :happy:

 

[AllTheBest4Axi]

Yep--I have an air pump, but I was wondering if the flow would be a little weaker and more tolerable for the axi if I used an air pump intended for a smaller tank.

 

[AllTheBest4Axi]

Also, thanks for the advice about sharp edges, did a lot of sanding.

 

[NeekaLovesYou]

That would mean you spending a lot more money than needed to be honest :happy: A valve is cheap and just as effective at lowing the current.

 

[AllTheBest4Axi]

Haha, I'm willing to invest in a valve, I just have a lot of air pumps so if it is indeed effective I'd just as well use one of them.

 

[Kaysie]

Even with a pump rated for your size tank, the water movement from an airstone is so minimal and concentrated that it rarely affects axolotls. The water movement you're trying to minimize is tank-wide flow or current. An air stone just doesn't have that much power, no matter how big your pump is!

Be careful using choke valves. Air pumps are made to run at a certain output, and if you strangle the tube, you can put undue stress on the air pump motor, causing them to burn up prematurely.

 

[AllTheBest4Axi]

Okay, thanks--good to know!

 

[Olivia97]

I use mine unchanged and no valves, my axies love it.

 

[Kaysie]

Many axies like to sit in the bubbles. It's a lazy way to move oxygen across the gills.

 

[Olivia97]

axolazylotl

 

[iChris]

I have one in my axie tank, bubbling slowly.

they are not a must, but I recommend them as axies tend to spend most of their time at the bottom of the tank, in the same spot for hours at a time (I just got home from work, and mine are still in the same spot as they where when I left this morning at 5am and it's now almost 3pm, except they have turned arownd) it mixes the bottom of the water column with the top without much movement and aids in gaseous exchange and even cools the tank a little.