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too fast for plants? help please

Mr Loach

Member
Joined
20 May 2018
Messages
36
Location
west midlands
about to set up new 250-275 litre tank. if i use existing externals true flow would be approx 2300 litres (rather than 3850 the manufactures claim). is this amount of circulation too much for a planted tank? thanks
 
Flow is more than just the pure numbers.

All that flow via a jet pipe for example might damage plants close to it, but if you used a spray bar it would be a more gentle current.

I use a lot of flow in my tanks but try to diffuse it with spray bars or spin pipes etc
 
I have a 100 litre tank with 2600l/hr total published flow from my 2x canister filters with Lily Pipes and 1x usb pump (at substrate level). None of my plants appear 'harmed' by the flow.

Heres a thread on high flow rates: Filter experiment to control algae
But isn't there an issue with fish? Even with a spray bar my peacock gobies don't like it if I face the flow directly into the tank – from a Fluvial 107 – and it creates conflicts over territories, as the fish retreat to quieter waters. In another tank I have some small habrosus Cory and they struggle if the flow from an Eheim pick up isn't baffled. It's something that confuses me, how to have a good enough flow to limit algae and spread oxygen, while not blowing the fish away. I am sure that's down to my own inexperience.
 
But isn't there an issue with fish? Even with a spray bar my peacock gobies don't like it if I face the flow directly into the tank – from a Fluvial 107 – and it creates conflicts over territories, as the fish retreat to quieter waters. In another tank I have some small habrosus Cory and they struggle if the flow from an Eheim pick up isn't baffled. It's something that confuses me, how to have a good enough flow to limit algae and spread oxygen, while not blowing the fish away. I am sure that's down to my own inexperience.

100% agree that some fish might not like it. When I read articles about flow, it seems that good flow is needed to ensure sufficient movement of the water at the substrate level. (Lily pipes /sprays bars push a lot of water near the top of the tank but the trick is to translate it into flow at the substrate level without blowing all your plants away).

However, instead of stronger flow through the normal filter outputs, I've been thinking - why not put a low powered usb pump near the substrate level just to push water around. This might give the substrate the circulation it needs without needing to resort to a huge amount of flow from traditional lily pipes/spray bars? I've actually installed a usb pump at the rear of my tank near the substrate level to push water around. It only uses 1w and pushes maybe 100-200l/hr, which is a pretty gentle flow (the usb pump cost me US$3.50 from a china seller).
 
Yes, and blowing all those nice leaves you've collected and deposited, like there was an autumn gale in the tank. (I just experimented with my spray bar and speak from experience). I haven't forgotten your handy USB and keep looking at it too check if it's idiot proof. Your film of it was sort of poetic and face on, so I still wasn't sure what the peacock gobies would thing ... but I am tempted to try it. It's one of those newbie conundrums that I know there must be a simple answer to – spray bar directed outward and all the floating plants and fish ar eat one end, spray bard bounced off the glass and the surface is bubbled at one end. The force from my Fluvial 107 seems powerful to me, almost too much so. But then, Ive stood in some Scottish rivers that were worse...
 
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