Animals & Nature Solar Oxygenator.

[pashton]

I was considering buying a solar oxygenator for my goldfish pond. A member of the staff of an aquatic centre, we visited, said that they were useless, as they only operate when the sun shines and the time when the fish need the oxygen the most is during the night in hot weather, because the plants respire at night, which means that they take in Oxygen and give out CO2. I rang up a well know firm on the net and asked for advice. They said that these solar oxygenators worked both during the day and part of the night, so I ordered one. Unfortunately, when I rec'd it, the instructions say that it only operates when the sun shines and it doesn't appear to have a battery to store surplus energy, so it doesn't work at night.

Does this matter? Surely there is surplus oxygen for the plants to use at night if you have been using an oxygenator during the day?

[FelixtheDog]

Yes Pashton, that should be ok. Some goldfish ponds get no extra airation at all and survive ok. Just make sure there are plenty of plants because they provide oxygen and suck up CO2 & this is a good thing. The oxygen they may take up at night when they respire is negligible. Any extra oxygen you add, even if only during the day will help the plants and as a bonus, also help to circulate the tank