Here's How
- Take any type of clean cup, pitcher or other container, scoop out and fill it with aquarium water.
- Hold the filled container some distance above the aquarium, and pour the water back into the tank. Repeat this process numerous times.
Tip: A larger volume of oxygen is generated the higher the water is dispensed from above the aquarium, and the number of repeated times this is done.
More Oxygenation Tips
- There is no set rule on how often this should be done, because every aquarium is different. You'll need to judge for yourself at what intervals each hour is going to be best for your system. When in doubt, go ahead, and if the fish start coming to the surface gasping for air, it's definitely time.
- To avoid messing up the substrate and stirring up a bunch of crud, particularly if you have a small or shallow aquarium, place a small plate or bowl in the tank and pour the water onto this area. Ceramic or glass items work well for this, because the item has to be heavy enough to stay submerged and in place.
- If you are using the floating hot water container method to manually generate heat in the aquarium, periodically pour some of the water over the top of the containers. Remember, heat rises. Most of the heat generated from the floating containers will stay near the surface, so this is a good way to get the warm water circulated.
- If your system ends up being shut off for a long period of time, due to the lack of filtration it's important to periodically test the water for any sign of ammonia. If ammonia does start showing up, you can be ready to handle the situation by having an ammonia reducing product such as Kordon's AmQuel on hand.
