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Help with optimizing flow

xZaiox

Member
Joined
31 Mar 2022
Messages
344
Location
Maidstone, UK
Hi guys,

My tank had been in a relatively decent place for a little while, and then I stupidly decided to turn the lights way up over a short period of time, and I've then had subsequent algae outbreaks. I've dimmed the lights back down and have been getting stuck in removing as much as I can, hopefully the majority of plants will go back to how they were before.

Anyway, preceding this widespread algae-inducing event, the plants at the back of the tank have never really been doing well, and I'm thinking it might be a good idea to try boosting the flow and seeing if that resolves their problems. I've noticed green spot algae on the plants at the back, but not the front, so I'm assuming there's possibly a CO2 deficit back there (ferts are dosed to EI levels).

My tank's hardscape has unfortunately not been set up well in accordance to flow. This was my second attempt at a planted tank, and I've certainly learned how important flow is, so I'll be more mindful during my next setup. Anyway, I think the rocks that I have are interfering with flow. I've uploaded some pics below of the setup in the spoiler tag. I'm aware the plants are quite overgrown on the left side, but in all honesty I like this look - I wanted to go for overgrown left and right sides with an open middle, so if I could get it working better I would prefer that to re-doing the scape.

This tank is 180 litres, and the main filter attached to the spray bar is a Fluval 407, with a rated pump performance of 1450 L/H. I have a secondary filter (Fluval 107) attached to a UV steriliser, the output is at the back-left corner, with a rated output of 550 L/H. All of the plants at the front section sway in the flow, and the majority of plants in the middle section also sway in the flow. The back area appears mostly still. CO2 is provided by an inline atomizer attached to the spray bar from the Fluval 407.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I should go about boosting flow? I.e good positions for wavemakers/powerheads etc? Also any specific brands/models recommended that will be suitable for my tank size?

Overall tank pic
1.jpg

The rotala and limnophilia at the back in this pic are the main ones I'm after improving. Their leaves don't really move much at all, so there is clearly a lack of flow here.
2.jpg

This is the location of my intakes, both in the right back corner.
3.jpg

The output of my secondary filter is in the back left corner. This is a low-flow output because it's primary usage is to run my UV steriliser. The drop checkers in the pic are only dark because they've been out of the water for a while during a water change.
4.jpg
 
Your tank looks great.
Thank you :)
It's worth considering that some plants just won't do well in some set-ups for complicated hard-to-sort-out reasons. Unless you're totally married to specific types of plants I suggest (not facetiously) that you try out a variety of plants and go with the ones that do well.
I have been considering this, but I guess because none of the plants at the back seem to be doing great, it did seem to me that it may be a flow issue. I really like the Limnophila hippuridoides, and I've seen that Clive/ceg4048 had a really healthy Limnophilia aromatica in his tank with rock hard water. My Limnophilia keeps getting green spot algae and shedding its lower leaves, which seems like a CO2 issue to me? But my pH drops 1.4 (from 8.2 to 6.8), and my drop checkers are lime green to yellow. The plant is also rated 'easy' by Tropica :lol:
 
Thank you :)

I have been considering this, but I guess because none of the plants at the back seem to be doing great, it did seem to me that it may be a flow issue. I really like the Limnophila hippuridoides, and I've seen that Clive/ceg4048 had a really healthy Limnophilia aromatica in his tank with rock hard water. My Limnophilia keeps getting green spot algae and shedding its lower leaves, which seems like a CO2 issue to me? But my pH drops 1.4 (from 8.2 to 6.8), and my drop checkers are lime green to yellow. The plant is also rated 'easy' by Tropica :lol:
Move it round to a high flow spot see how it does, then you’ll be able to see if is an issue with flow.
 
Personally I don't like spray bars, I would try 1 outlet at the back right and 1 at the front left, and create a rotational flow if that makes sense. 👍
 

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