air stone?

[fishnewbie]

I recently bought a 30g starter kit at the local fish shop, it didn't come with an air stone. My question is, is this an essential piece of equipment? I assumed it wasn't since it didn't come in the kit. Am I right or wrong? What will happen if I don't buy one? Any help would be appreciated.

Justin

 

[JWright]

Not at all essential. All it does is help move water around in the tank (the rising bubbles "lift" the water around them, creating a current in the water).

I assume the kit came with a filter that hangs over the edge of the tank. That style of filter does a good job of circulating water around the tank.

~JW

 

[MissFishy]

Welcome FishNewbie! Great question! Before you set up all your stuff, you may want to read over the link in my profile so you can get some info on cycling a tank and what equipment is necessary. Feel free to post questions here too, people are very helpful!

 

[fishnewbie]

Missfishy,
Why don't you like the test strips? It seems like they would be easy to use.

Justin

 

[JWright]

Easy to use, yes.

Accurate, no....

 

[MissFishy]

Test strips are easy to use, but they are also much more expensive to use long term and don't provide accurate results. The drop test kits can be stretched out and used for a much longer period of time and provide much more accurate results.