As we all know rivers and lakes are the natural habits for fish and other marine life. Rivers and lakes have large surface area which makes maximum provision of oxygen for fish survival possible. On the other hand an aquarium is not like river or lake, it has a smaller surface area and there is limited movement of habitats.
This makes the provision of alternative means of oxygen for fish to breathe important. This artificial process of providing oxygen is called aeration. It's a simple process of re-oxygenating the water in aquarium tank.
The Aquarium Aerating System:
An aquarium aerating aystem made up of a series of materials that increases the supply of air (thereby increasing oxygen concentration) they are:
-the air pump
-t-pieces
-rubber tubing
-clamp or regulator
-diffusers or airstone
Air pumps come in different shapes and sizes but the most popular ones are tecax air pump from Taiwan together with 'dyna free, and the dragon' another popular one is super 555 from India though cheaper, but not as rugged. Occasionally available are the more expensive whisper and rens air pumps from Uk and rance respectively. Always place air pumps above the water level hooked to a non-vibrating material.
You can accomplish aeration in your aquarium tank by using the above listed aeration materials.
For small tanks all you need is to attach a simple aquarium air pump to airstone by means of a rubber air tube. The system will be blowing air into the water which causes motion in aquarium tank and thus provide the necessary oxygen your fish needs to breathe in the aquarium.
Sometimes people complain that the airpumps are too loud. A tricks to keep the air pump quiet is to insulate it's vibrations by placing the air pump on a large sponge.
I have even heard of some people who have buried the pump in cat litter with a air tube running to the surface from the air inlet... but you don't have to go to that extent. A large sponge should do the trick.