# Removed powerfilter, fish gasping for air



## JESTERX626 (Sep 18, 2006)

Recently removed aquaclear50 powerfilter from my 29 gal tank planted to hold co2 in water, and next day all the fish are at the very top gasping for air. Should I put the powerfilter back? Is this really how a planted tank is? With fish gasping for air all the time?


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

JESTERX626 said:


> Is this really how a planted tank is? With fish gasping for air all the time?


The fish should not be gasping for air at all. Gasping at the surface is a sign of stress, if the stress is bad enough you'll have dead fish. While plants produce oxygen during the day, at night plants use oxygen and release CO2 the same as your fish. Running an airstone at night may be all you need to do to for your fish. If that isn't enough then you may need to use your filter. Hope this helps!


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## joephys (May 9, 2006)

If you keep the water up near the filters return, you shouldn't get a huge ammount of gas off. Not only that, but with no water movement, your CO2 won't move around the tank as well either, and you will be inviting algea. Gas exchange only occures at the surface, so very little oxygen is getting down to the bottom of the tank. I would put the filter back on.


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## southpark (Oct 9, 2006)

you need water circulation and possibly a small amount of surface action to prevent undue de-oxygenation of your water and too much co2 buildup, you're going to lose co2 through the water surface regardless, and you may have to increase your injection rate to compensate, but having no water filter/movement at all will kill your fish, and then your bacteria, and then your plants..

i'd suggest investing in a small powerhead or maybe something with a spraybar(canister)..


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

I agree with the above responses. I would put the filter back on the tank. Of course now that you've had it off, you need to put new media in there and clean it out well so it doesn't dump toxins back into the tank when you start it up again.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

As a side note, is your CO2 on a solenoid?

Say it wasn't and you keep your CO2 where it is. If there's ever a power outage and your filter doesn't kick back on and your CO2 is constantly running, you might come back to dead fish after a vacation or something. I'd make a drop checker or buy one and just aim for a CO2 level of ~30 ppm. That way, even if your filter dies and you're not overstocked, your fish would probably be OK.


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