Gyre/Powerhead Problem

[Hamsnacks]

Having an issue setting up my Gyres in my 225 Gallon Tank.

72" Wide, 24" High, 30" Deep

I went with Gyres as I liked how they were able to move water plus I eventually plan to move into saltwater down the road.

The tank is heavily planted with carpet and shorter length plants. When the Gyres are on, they move the plants perfectly and you can see all the detritus they throw up. Initially, the plan was to have one on each side of the tank opposite sides for 12 hours a day and then off for 12 at night to give the fish a break.

I threw in 10 Cardinal Tetras as a test, and even at the lowest speed, where I'm able to keep the plants gently blowing, and just having the Gyres pushing water like a regular powerhead I find the Tetras struggle to push through the flow. I do not want the fish to be constantly having to use energy just to swim around.

How do you guys do it? How do you balance the movement of the plants and keeping the fish stress free?
I have tried lower spots and higher spots but I feel like once I have a full tank any spot is going to cause some push back of the fish.

My plan now is to maybe have them on timers to come on for 20mins every 4 hours, 3x a day and the fish just deal with it for 20mins? Thoughts on that?

 

[Colin_T]

Never heard of them, what are they and can you post a link for them?

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My plan now is to maybe have them on timers to come on for 20mins every 4 hours, 3x a day and the fish just deal with it for 20mins? Thoughts on that?

sounds good.

I used to have a couple of power heads in my Galaxias and rainbowfish tanks. The pumps were at opposite ends and one came on for an hour and then went off. Later that day the other came on for an hour. Galaxias and rainbowfish are strong swimmers and they enjoyed the current, tetras are the opposite so a shorter time, like the 20 minutes you are thinking of doing, would be better for them. You could run it a couple of times a day but don't get too carried away because they are back water fishes and don't normally spend a lot of time swimming into strong currents.

 

[Hamsnacks]

Thanks Colin for your input!

Here is the link to the Gyre system:

https://www.jlaquatics.com/maxspect-gyre-xf330-single-pump-package.html

I was sold on the way it moved water with no dead spots.

 

[seangee]

I agree with @Colin_T. Tetras don't appreciate a strong flow. Things obviously change when you move to marine or have fish that do appreciate a high flow. I don't run a powerhead in my tetra tank. Sure there are dead spots but the corys, snails, bacteria and plants ensure I don't have a problem with organic accumulation - and of course regular water changes. By comparison my loach tank is a raging river and the PH runs 24/7 - but there are a few strategically placed logs where they can go for a rest or sleep.

You could reduce the impact by giving them a thick cover of floating plants with substantial roots but your lower plants won't appreciate the loss of light. Tetras, and in particular cardinals, don't like high light environments so that may be something to think about, but for now keeping the PH on for a short time seems sensible.

Edit: Before anyone tell me the corys enjoy flow : I do have 2 air columns where they regularly play. Plenty of floating plants so the turbulence is well buffered in the rest of the tank.