making oxy shells?

[zoezealand 0]

does anyone know how to make oxy shells (or oxygen shells)?

My pet shop says they have a secret recipe

[Ira 59]

Why would you want to make them?

[cees 5]

what is an oxy shell ?

[Caryl 200]

Small shell shapes they sell in lfs that claim to release oxygen into the water.

[zoezealand 0]

id like to make my own cause it is cheaper (and fun )

[Caryl 200]

But why would you want to use them at all? :-?

[zoezealand 0]

because i have several small tanks with different things in them (fish brine shrimp snails etc) and only one air pump which i rotate to the different tanks, but i thought having an oxy shell in each would give extra oxygen gradually into the water

do you think this is a bad idea?

[Ira 59]

They don't really release oxygen into the water as far as I know. All they are is a lump of calcium carbonate or similar that raises the PH of the water. If you really want buy a couple more pumps, you can get them for cheap off trademe or buy a splitter and a bunch of airhose if they're close enough and run and airline to each tank.

[HummingBird 0]

I agree entirely with Ira. Air pumps are dirt cheap and great for circulation as well as aeration.

Check out what's on Trademe

[zoezealand 0]

ok thanks

[debs01 0]

so are you guys saying oxy shells are a bad idea, reid uses them and only them in her tank, would you advise her not too??? :-?

[Ira 59]

If she has a valid reason for using them, no I wouldn't advise to stop using them. They work just fine at keeping the PH up. If they're being used "Because they add oxygen to the water" Yes, I would advise to stop.

[klaymann 0]

oxy shells are a gimick for newbies who trust the LFS for advice ... in the long term would be better to upgrade to a larger twin outlet pump with gang valves to each seperate tank... 8)

[debs01 0]

I use them too occasionaly because I thought they were a good idea if you didnt have air going into your tank, so thats wrong then?????

[suphew 1]

Most oxygen gets in your tank because of the water surface area contact with air. The air pump only helps a little with this because a) a little extra surface area on the outside of each bubble b) because it makes the surface move. It doesn't actually put oxygen into the water.

I don't know if oxygen stones work or not and I can't see why you would need them (assuming your tank isn't so over stocked that your fish are using all the oxygen, and if this was the case you would have far bigger problems than lack of oxygen), but anythick that does temperary changes to PH is asking for trouble, fish dont tend to like things changing esp quickly.

[Beatrix 0]

I use an oxy shell in our large tank all the time because it helps to balance the ph level. It helps to keep my fish alive because I’m really bad at remembering to check the levels, until it’s too late! Yes we probably upgrade our pump, but that’s not possible at the moment.

[Caryl 200]

What is causing changes that requires calcium to alter the pH? Too late for what? Many fish are tolerant of a wide range of pH as they have been commercially bred so don't know what pH their species is supposed to live in. If you are breeding fish then pH can matter more. 

I must confess my 4ft tropical has been running for over 20 years now and I can't remember the past time I checked the pH.

[alanmin4304 94]

Air pumps don't pump O2 into the water, they increase the surface area of the tank which allows for a better exchange of gasses. Water has a greater affinity for O2 than CO2 so airation drives off the CO2 and raises the pH.