O2 in water

[dtracy1119]

This might sound like a stupid question but why are we so worried about the surface being agitated for air exchange when our protein skimmers that use air for the bubbles, wouldn't that right there add O2 to the water???

 

[ispookie666]

It's all about redundancy. If your skimmer stops - surface agitation could keep the oxygenation going.

 

[ca1ore]

I think it's debatable about how good a skimmer is at oxygenating the water; it's likely better at off gassing CO2 (as long as the room air isn't also laden with it). While it 'seems' like it ought to be significant I've personally found them of minimal benefit. I'm sure there will be folks that disagree. Even if they are significant, what would happen if the skimmer stopped working?

 

[dtracy1119]

Right now the sump I have is a Marineland Tidepool with a bio wheel (wet-dry). With the wet dry system doesn't it separated the water into droplets with good O2 exchange? All trays with biological filtration. Just the overflow has a very corse pre-filter. Should I take out the pre-filter? Tank is almost 2 months old with a diatom brown algae bloom.