Aetherial
Member
Hey all,
I've been trying to get a nice circular flow pattern for the past few weeks, but I just can't seem to figure it out.
Everything I've tried so far leads to "chaos" with the flow randomly going in all kinds of directions.
I'm using an Oase Biomaster Thermo 350 on a 100L tank, with the standard inlet and spray bar that came with the filter.
I've tried:
The full length spray bar (2 shorter bars with a piece of tubing connecting them) along the back, holes pointing straight forward, holes angled slightly upwards, holes pointing more upwards than forward, spray bar right below surface, farther from surface, etc.
Only 1 half of the spray bar, centered along the back, angles, etc., mentioned above.
1 half of the spray bar on the left side, pointing across the length of the tank, but that didn't fit as the spray bar was just a little too long.
The "Flow Distributor" that came with the filter, which is kind of a very small lily pipe.
Nothing attached to the outlet.
In the end, I've gone back to the full length spray bar along the back, holes angled slightly upwards, as I felt like that gave the best result.
However, that hasn't solved the problem at all.
Here's a video of what the flow currently looks like. You can clearly see the different directions of the flow when looking at the co2 bubbles on the surface. About halfway into the video, you can also see a loose leaf going back and forth in the flow.
Side note: I forgot to remove the audio before uploading the video, so unless you'd enjoy hearing me sigh and moan like an old man when moving around, I'd recommend muting it 😂
My DC is lime green wherever I place it, and I get a pH drop of around 1.2, so I'm not too concerned about co2 distribution, but I'd assume this chaotic flow pattern might/will/does create problems.
Also, the highest part of the wood is actually below the spray bar, even though it looks like it's at the same height in the video, so it's not blocking the flow directly.
One more thing I thought might be worth mentioning, just in case, is that the water comes out of the spray bar holes at an angle, rather than straight forward.
Made a little drawing, so I hope it makes sense:
I've been trying to get a nice circular flow pattern for the past few weeks, but I just can't seem to figure it out.
Everything I've tried so far leads to "chaos" with the flow randomly going in all kinds of directions.
I'm using an Oase Biomaster Thermo 350 on a 100L tank, with the standard inlet and spray bar that came with the filter.
I've tried:
The full length spray bar (2 shorter bars with a piece of tubing connecting them) along the back, holes pointing straight forward, holes angled slightly upwards, holes pointing more upwards than forward, spray bar right below surface, farther from surface, etc.
Only 1 half of the spray bar, centered along the back, angles, etc., mentioned above.
1 half of the spray bar on the left side, pointing across the length of the tank, but that didn't fit as the spray bar was just a little too long.
The "Flow Distributor" that came with the filter, which is kind of a very small lily pipe.
Nothing attached to the outlet.
In the end, I've gone back to the full length spray bar along the back, holes angled slightly upwards, as I felt like that gave the best result.
However, that hasn't solved the problem at all.
Here's a video of what the flow currently looks like. You can clearly see the different directions of the flow when looking at the co2 bubbles on the surface. About halfway into the video, you can also see a loose leaf going back and forth in the flow.
Side note: I forgot to remove the audio before uploading the video, so unless you'd enjoy hearing me sigh and moan like an old man when moving around, I'd recommend muting it 😂
My DC is lime green wherever I place it, and I get a pH drop of around 1.2, so I'm not too concerned about co2 distribution, but I'd assume this chaotic flow pattern might/will/does create problems.
Also, the highest part of the wood is actually below the spray bar, even though it looks like it's at the same height in the video, so it's not blocking the flow directly.
One more thing I thought might be worth mentioning, just in case, is that the water comes out of the spray bar holes at an angle, rather than straight forward.
Made a little drawing, so I hope it makes sense: