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Circulation questions

dougbraz

dougbraz

Member
Joined
3 Nov 2020
Messages
147
Location
São Paulo Brazil
Hi - I have a 60X50X40cm planted tank running with an Eheim Ecco 2232 filter. According to the manual, it is just enough and indeed most of the plants sway slightly in the current. I have some small fish as well in the tank. Reading on this forum, I see a lot of talk about spreader bars and circulation pumps. My canister puts out (according to the manual, so obviously it will be slightly less than this) 500lph and my tank is 125litres, so roughly 4 times circulation per hour. In terms of overall reach/distribution, would a spreader bar give a better result? Also, should I invest in an additional circulation pump? I don't want a humongous wavemaker style pump in my tank blasting everything around, and the circulation pumps available here tend to be Chinese makes (if cheap) but quite large and most of them say they circulate 2000 litres/hour - isn't that a bit strong for my low tech tank (no CO2)? There is, for example, a SunSun model (pic attached) for 10quid. It's not much money, I know, but would it be worth it (2000l/r)? A spreader bar is hard to find here (In Brazil) and to import one from the UK or wherever would cost - believe it or not - about 75 quid! Thinking of making my own...
 

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Driftless said:
If you see plant movement you should be fine as is, I like Lily Pipes with a skimmer on intake for that size tank.
Click to expand...

I was looking at that option also. Does a lilly pipe improve circulation or is it more just for aesthetics?


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I have a high tech 125 gallon tank and attached a similar 700 gph circulation pump on the long end. The 6 ft long tank has 3 HOBs that provide front to back flow and the circulation pump provids longitudinal cross flow to mix up the circulation to better distribute CO2 and nutrients. There is a slight plant movement and just the right amount of flow. I tried a 1200 gph model before and it was too strong flow for my liking. These inexpensive Chinese made pumps are reliable, quiet, and widely used and validated in Asia where aquarists outnumber the West. Just make sure you buy the model with magnetic attachment for better anchoring.
 

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dougbraz said:
I was looking at that option also. Does a lilly pipe improve circulation or is it more just for aesthetics?


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Click to expand...
The flow is different, I think spray bars reduce the concentrated flow that you would have with a single outflow. Like you, I also have 60 cm tank and the filter that I use on that tank is a Fluval 207 and I do not have the pump set at the highest output level. I have one spray bar in a 48" tank that I will be removing at some point.
 
tiger15 said:
These inexpensive Chinese made pumps are reliable, quiet, and widely used and validated in Asia where aquarists outnumber the West. Just make sure you buy the model with magnetic attachment for better anchoring.
Click to expand...


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dougbraz said:
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Click to expand...

Tiger 15: I know they are mostly good filters - apart from the really really cheap ones (you get what you pay for). Certainly here they are far cheaper than European options. I was wondering more about if it was a good idea to blast 2000l/h around in my 60cm tank.


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dougbraz said:
Tiger 15: I know they are mostly good filters - apart from the really really cheap ones (you get what you pay for). Certainly here they are far cheaper than European options. I was wondering more about if it was a good idea to blast 2000l/h around in my 60cm tank.


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Entertaining perhaps.
 
dougbraz said:
I was wondering more about if it was a good idea to blast 2000l/h around in my 60cm tank.
Click to expand...
I've had the same issues trying to increase flow in a 1200mm tank. Tried a number of circulation pumps and the best one I found for not so much money was the Jebao wm-5, you can contol the flow from 500-2500 lph.

On another tank even at 500lph the Jebao was to much so i just added a ten quid all pond solutions surface skimmer which at 300lph seems to do the trick.
Time will tell as to their durability and reliability.

Cheers.
 
Yes it will increase flow.. it sucks water in at the top and ejects water at the bottom.
 

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Oh I see. I had the attached in min which sucks in from both top and bottom.
 

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dougbraz said:
Tiger 15: I know they are mostly good filters - apart from the really really cheap ones (you get what you pay for). Certainly here they are far cheaper than European options. I was wondering more about if it was a good idea to blast 2000l/h around in my 60cm tank.


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Click to expand...
It’s hard to tell based solely on the length of the tank as it depends on your layout and other factors. As for my 125 gal, I have a triangular plant layout with the shortest plants near and tallest plants far away from the circulation pump, so it can take higher flow. On the other hand, if you had tall plants throughout, it could not tolerate as high flow. Another factor is the gph of your other filtration. The combined flow of my HOBs is about 700 gph, so the pump doubles the total circulation rate to 1400 gph. If I had weaker filtration flow, I may need to make up with greater circulation. A third factor is the type of plants. I have mostly tough texture Java fern near, and more delicate stems far away from the pump. If I had all delicate stems, my circulation rate need to be moderated.

Ultimately, you have to try it out and judge by your observation. I started it out with a 350 gph pump and it was too weak. Then I tried a 1200gph pump, and it was too strong. 700 gph works best for me. The length of my tank is 6 ft, so you can convert to liter and cm to see if it is proportional to yours.
 
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John q said:
Yes it will increase flow.. it sucks water in at the top and ejects water at the bottom.
Click to expand...
Eheim and ADA make similar products, this looks nice. I have the ADA on my 60 cm as that tank does not have a skimmer with the filter intake as too many dwarf shrimp went into it.

On my larger discus and angelfish tanks, I run two filters with the outflows at different corners, this allows me to tweak the tank to get the flow to my preferences. Typically neither of the filters are run at 100%. An added benefit is the increased biological media filtration running two filters.
 
Yes the All pond solutions skimmer is never going to win any design awards. However I find if you squint, wearing a pair of dark glasses, the silhouette looks remarkably similar to the Ada VUPPA-II. 😉
For now its a £10 means to an end.
 
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