Air pump / Water pump / Priming sugar

I have three basic questions :
1.) How many of you swear by using an air pump to aerate your wort vs aeration using other methods ?

2.) My tap water is +-12degC. Is this cold enough for the IC to drop temp quick enough or should I use a water pump to pump iced water through it ?

3.) Most of the recipes Ive seen don't mention adding priming sugar at bottling time - Is this because its taken as a given that brewers know to do this or because some recipes don't require added suger ?
Im about to brew a stout which has no mention of priming sugar in the recipe.

1) I use an O2 system, and it works great and makes it easier, but there are a lot of ways to get O2 into your wort. Nice to have sure, but not 100% required by any means.
2) Your tap water is plently cold to get the wort down to pitching temps (~20C).
3) If y ou want your beer carbed then you have to use priming sugar. Some recipes may leave it out, because a lot of people use kegs and do not need it.

Ed

1. I use a pure O2 system as well. I don't 'swear' by it, but it sure is a nice item to have around. I've cheated by underpitching, oxygenating a bunch, and then after some lag while the yeasties grew to a good colony size, had great fermentation, proper attenuation and a good beer.

3. I think most recipes assume you'll add the right amount of priming sugar. While there are style guildlines for carbonation, in the end it matters what YOU like for a carbonation level in a given beer.

I have purchased a 3W aquarium airpump - do I need to filter the air and if so how ?
How long should I aerate for (5 gallons) ?

Re the IC - how long should it take to get the hot wort down to the required temp ? When should I consider a water pump ?
Im concerned that when summer comes the tap water will not be cold enough.

Re priming sugar - I opened the first bottle of my Coopers kit and found it way too fizzy. I added the recommended two "sweets" (yes, I ate a few) / 6g per 750ml.
If I wanted carbonation similair to a Guiness draft (in a can), which has barely noticable carbonation - how much sugar should I add ?
I assume I boil the sugar with a small amount of water and stir it in just prior to bottling (Ive eaten all the Coopers drops).