Do You Need Air Pumps in Planted Aquariums?

All that an air pump does is create a surface current and add oxygen to your aquarium near the top where the water gets disturbed from the breaking bubbles. This can also be achieved by using power heads at each end of your aquarium or just on one side. It can also be done by placing an intake of a canister filter at one end and the output at the other end.

Although you are adding oxygen to your aquarium, you are only adding it where the current goes and most of the time it is only staying at the top of your aquarium.

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If you have a heavily planted aquarium that is healthy, turn on your lighting system for a few hours and go back and look at the leaves of your plants. After a hour or two, you should see tiny beads coming off the leaves in the form of bubbles. This is oxygen being given off by the plants and your water is being staturated with oxygen resulting from photosynthesis taking place in the plants.

In a planted tank, the oxygen is distributed equally throughout the whole tank and not just where you have created a current. A heavily planted tank will contain an ample supply of oxygen for sustaining fish.

Plants need carbon dioxide in order to survive. It is derived from fish who breathe in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. Plants give off oxygen so there is very much a dependent relationship between plants and fish.

If anything, a planted tank would need additional carbon dioxide which is available in cannisters at pet stores.