Are Spray Bars Necessary?

ColR1948

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Through a fair bit of research I have read and I'm sure many others have that the more flow the filter generates which to mind is the more water turnover the better for the water quality and the bacteria to flourish.

I notice when I remove the spray bar how the flow increases which you will all say is obvious because it has been slowed down by the spray bar, so going off the above theory are they necessary or are they just for show?


Also as a side note, I found some interesting facts about bacteria growth which is in the 'Scientific Section' under the thread of 'Wild Idea will it work' it is the last post I made on that thread, not many will have seen it as they tend to come here mostly.
 
Spray bars tend to make the water ripple more, which is good for gas exchaneg, both O2 in to the water and CO2 out of it.
 
I understand that but when you take the spray bar off the water still ripples if not more so.
 
If your fish don't mind the flow, it's better to run filters without a spray bar, but a lot of fish don't like very fast flowing water and that's when you want to be using a spray bar.
 
I position my filter so that about the top 1/6th where the flow comes out is out of the water... makes a bit of a running water noise that way (not that much) but it agitates the water wonderfully so I don't end up needing something else.
 
If you have filter with an adjustable nozzle it can be directed towards the glass and deflect it, or fit a (sometimes homemade) deflector.
 
I have some tanks with spray bars and some without spray bars, exactly for the reason Fluttermouth mentions. Also, where I have CO2 injection for the plants I don't want to agitate the surface more than necessary and lose CO2. However, here is something to throw in the mix, which I have often pondered, but do not know the answer to...... If the water turnover through the filter is high, it should collect more waste and keep the water clear, however the water spends less time in the filter and as such 'may' mean that the biological process is less. If the turnover is lower and the water spends more time in the filter is the bio process better? OR, with a higher turnover, does the fact that the same water goes through the filter multiple times per hour actually give it the same bio exposure
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........... Food for thought.
 
Since NH3/NO2/NO3 are actually extremely small particles, its very less likely that they'd hit the bacteria if the water isn't moving as fast. Kind of like if you were trying to shoot a bullseye with a rock in your hand or an automatic rifle, it has more opportunity to hit the bacteria if it misses the first time around. The water isn't just sitting in the filter when there's less turnover, water is constantly moving through just at a slower speed so that it takes longer for missed particles to have another chance of hitting a bacteria. This is why people who overstock also overfilter, and why underfiltering is such a detrimental issue.
 
Spray bars tend to make the water ripple more, which is good for gas exchaneg, both O2 in to the water and CO2 out of it.
Right and that's so important. But it also means the answer to your question is no...spray bars aren't necessary, surface agitation is. This can be done with a spray bar or other methods like bubbles, overflows, or just pointing a powerhead up at the surface to cause that ripple. So no spray bars but certainly something is necessary.
 

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