Air, Co2 And My Filter

[Rorie]

Hey,

So, i have been reading about water circulation in my aquarium. It is important that i have water circulating all corners of my aquarium. Fine. I have also read that for a hi-tech planted aquarium, i should aim for a 10x flow rate (i.e a 240L aquarium should be filtering 2400L/hour).

(REF Info taken from here)

Well, i have a 360L aquarium, and have a tetratec EX 2400, which is for aquariums of 400 to 1,000 L. So i should be ok. But is there anyway to know? It does state it has a flow rate of 2400l/H....hence not 10x filtration). I also read about people limiting the aquariums flow etc, which i can do with valves on the input and output, but i keep them fully open.

So, Is my filtration enough? How can i check?

I have a water pump which i just bought for helping with water changes. Is there any point in me putting this in to help with circulation?

I will have a CO2 system up and running as it will be heavily planted. To increase flow, for visual effect, and to put more oxygen into the aquarium (as my spray bar is under water to keep the noise down, there is not much disturbance of water to create air), i was thinking about adding my air pump to the aquarium. Can i/ Should i do this if i have a CO2 system in place? Will the two interfere with each other at all?

Thanks

 

[ian]

it's not just about filtration, it's about flow, ensuring fert and nutrients get all over the tank. This doesn't have to be achieved purely by filtration. Many of us in the planted community use powerheads. In my 190ltr i use a Koralia 1 and the 1000lph filter this gives me 15x turnover in this tank. You will have around 7x turnover in your tank (i'm tired and my maths isn't to hot!). You could do with a powerhead.

and don't use an air pump if you are running C02, you will be wasting C02. As Long as there is a gentle ripple on top, your fish will be getting plenty on O2.

 

[Rorie]

it's not just about filtration, it's about flow, ensuring fert and nutrients get all over the tank. This doesn't have to be achieved purely by filtration. Many of us in the planted community use powerheads. In my 190ltr i use a Koralia 1 and the 1000lph filter this gives me 15x turnover in this tank. You will have around 7x turnover in your tank (i'm tired and my maths isn't to hot!). You could do with a powerhead.

and don't use an air pump if you are running C02, you will be wasting C02. As Long as there is a gentle ripple on top, your fish will be getting plenty on O2.

I thought that may be the case for the air pump! thanks for clarifying.

As for a power head. I just bought an eheim compact 1000 submersible pump to do water changes. Is this what i should use as a powerhead? I see there are some which just look like a propeller, rather than something that sucks in the water and spits it out. Any advice as to what to get? Or should i just use my Eheim? Where about in the aquarium would you suggest i put it in the aquarium?

Thanks!

 

[ian]

the Eheim is a powerhead, it looks OK. Koralias are better IMO as they push a wider amount of water the the Ehiem, but it will do a job. You would normally position it where the dead spots are within the tank, or near the C02 diffuser, to help push the C02 around the tank.

 

[Rorie]

the Eheim is a powerhead, it looks OK. Koralias are better IMO as they push a wider amount of water the the Ehiem, but it will do a job. You would normally position it where the dead spots are within the tank, or near the C02 diffuser, to help push the C02 around the tank.

Maybe, despite the extra cost, i should keep my 2 pumps seperate. Keep my Eheim for removing water, so that way i dont need to keep playing about in the aquarium to take it in and out, and then keep a Koralisas in the aquarium all the time.

The koralias looks a lot more sleek. Would i put it low down in the water, or higher up though? What one do you think i would need for my aquairum? You said you have a Koralias 1.... is that 1600L/h?

I guess if i aim for 15x turn over. If i have a 360L aquarium, thats 5400L/h turn over. My filter is currently 2400 L/h, which means i need a further 3,000l/h from my pump (wow, thats even more than my filter is currently doing!). Is that correct?