After Some Flow Advice?

FishForums.net Pet of the Month
🐶 POTM Poll is Open! 🦎 Click here to Vote! 🐰

Ps3Steveo

Planted Experimentalist
Joined
Apr 2, 2011
Messages
5,683
Reaction score
4
Location
GB
I'd like to hear peoples recommendations for my 5.5ft x 2ft x 2ft 600+ litre, its going heavily planted and and FX5 or two is out of the question as I want to use ext heaters, any ideas guys and gals? I don't want to run more than 2 filters either, don't mind adding a koralia tho. :)

Needs to total around 10 x turnover, don't want to go up to 20 x as gonna be having Discus.
 
Personally, either Koralia type pumps or an old school power head like a maxijet with a pipe running under the substrate. Gives you control over where the flow and return are, rather than just a circulator in one spot so you could have movement in a quiet back corner.

I am one for messing with overflow pipe though, so it may just be me that does things like this.
 
Well in a planted tank you need at least 10x turnover, but that's just movement of water to ensure the plants get all they need so would rather use a koralia to compliment the flow from the filter but its picking the filter/s that's bothering me. Thought about 2 x EFX600's but 2 would give the flow of 1 FX5 so no point there, got me thinking about pond filters lol.
 
The problem with pond filters is that they tend to be a lot less fussy about noise.

Is there a possibility of a sump?
 
Yeah but I have no idea how they work/don't overflow or anything, kind of scare me a little lol. Also is it possible with a sump to have the outflow at the top of the tank and the inflow as low as possible underneath it?
 
Yeah but I have no idea how they work/don't overflow or anything, kind of scare me a little lol. Also is it possible with a sump to have the outflow at the top of the tank and the inflow as low as possible underneath it?

Yes.

Drilled tanks often have a weir that is set up to do the outflow from the top thing. Partly I suspect as they're often used in marine sets where surface skimming is a big thing.

Non drilled tanks tend to use overflow boxes, which would have to be modded to not draw from the top (which is still doable). Return is via a pipe like any external (but remember that, unlike externals you definitely do need some form of syphon break if the return is at the bottom of the tank.

They don't overflow because they draw from the top of the tank, so if you kill the power then the water level drops to the top of that pipe/overflow box and then stops.

 
See that's what I mean, if the hole in the bottom still draws water form the top of the tank or all sumps do this to prevent the sump from overflowing then I'll still have ugly looking stuff in my tank. I want it to be as minimal as possible. :(
 
Sump out of the question then, CO2 gassing off is bad on sumps and the ugly stuff in the tank to go with it is putting me off. I really am lost on this, how does Amano filter is huge tanks? Best LPH filter on the market and you cant change the twin outlets to a single outlet, the pipe size is stupid so no external heater or inline diffuser and sumps have ugly box work and gas off the CO2.
 
2x tetratec ex1200 :) pipe size will fit the 300w hydor external heater
 
That's no good for me as it will give me about 3 x turnover with media added.
 
you don't count the media when looking at flow rates in planted tanks...you go with what the pump provides. So, in effect you only need to go with what the box says.

2x 2078e would cut it in a planted discus tank this big IMO.
 
At 350 each plus heaters tho the sump is looking more friendly now.
 
I wonder if 2 x EFX600's will do, cheap, 2700lph each and could add a koralia if needed.
 
There's always the APS externals, they're certainly cheap, although you may be better with some 2nd hand tetratecs, not that anyone near me ever seems to be selling any.
 
Well I cant find anything with the flow rate of an aquamanta EFX600, in fact not much anywhere near it other than the FX5 which has the stupidest hoses going so don't want 2 of them.
 

Most reactions

trending

Staff online

Members online

Back
Top