How Can You Tell If The Current Is To Strong For Your Fish?

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

as the title says, im either paranoid or just worrying too much its better to be safe than sorry though!
abit of info: my tank: Fluval Roma 90 litres
filter: Fluval internal U3

if infact this is too much for my tank could some suggest a replacement?? i dont mind what type of filter i have tbh

cheers guys n gals

 

[L4byr1nth]

I wouldn't say it's too much, tbh.

What's your stock list? If you read up on your fish, you can find out if they're riverine (like a strong current), or slow water.

Ben.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

I wouldn't say it's too much, tbh.

What's your stock list? If you read up on your fish, you can find out if they're riverine (like a strong current), or slow water.

Ben.

stock list is understocked atm... after some bad luck with a nackered heater

- 1 South African Bumblebee Catfish
- 1 Neon Dwarf Gourami
- 1 Red Tail Black Shark

final stock list should look sumthing like

- 2 dwarf gourami 1m 1f
- 2 cockatoo apistogrammas 1m 1f
- 6 cardinal tetras
- 6 panda corys
- 4 armano shrimp

ive read gourami like stiller waters but all mine ever does is swim with the tank current lol he is a strange 1 mind u

 

[L4byr1nth]

My RTB Shark doesn't seem to mind a strong current - he can often be seen playing in it when I turn the filter up full!

Not sure about the Apisto's though.

Ben.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

yeh mine always swims and plays around in it but he will be moved soon to his bigger home
i was more worried about the gouramis and apistos tbh i dont wana buy this stock over the next few weeks and end up with battered stressed out fish especially paying £15 each for apistos!

 

[Skins]

I'm sure i read a thread not that long ago, that on the fluval U3 there is a gizmo that can increase/decrease the flow rate. I would have a quick scan through the manual.

Keith.

 

[neo83]

You can always choose the 'spray option - probably option B' on the control dial on fluval u3 which will give you a lower current and advised for planted tanks by Fluval. I used to run my roma 125 tank on this setting and got an additional air pump for surface agitation. Although i have now replaced the U3 with the external 305 and point the output towards the wall

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

yeh i can turn it down but i wasnt sure if that would affect the way the tank cycles as id be putting out less litres per hour?

i have a airstone in my tank so i could change it to the spray bar option b on the filter but i was worried about the surface water gettin dirty without the venturi powerhead swilling it around descions descions!!

 

[neo83]

yeh i can turn it down but i wasnt sure if that would affect the way the tank cycles as id be putting out less litres per hour?

i have a airstone in my tank so i could change it to the spray bar option b on the filter but i was worried about the surface water gettin dirty without the venturi powerhead swilling it around descions descions!!

I'm no expert but i cycled my 125l tank with the U3 on spray bar option it self. Also when i was doing the fishless cycle, i did not bother too much about the air stone and i let the biological film build up. Only when i got the fish after cycling and i put on the air stone. But i dont use the air stone anymore now that i got a lot more live plants and also fluval 305. Although my 305 output is not exactly near the surface causing bubbly agitation, my surface doesnt have a film anymore and stays clear and i position it towards the wall such that there is not enough water movement to bother the fish and plants.

There is a bit of current on the top edge on one side of the tank and harlequins love to play in the current whenever they want to. They make a line going just under the current one after the other, go into the current, pushed back by the current and get in line again. It's lovely to watch though. They are just like fighter jets.

I have a pearl gourami and since they are from still waters, surface agitation is currently less so as to not to bother him so much and he seems to be happy with it.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

yeh i can turn it down but i wasnt sure if that would affect the way the tank cycles as id be putting out less litres per hour?

i have a airstone in my tank so i could change it to the spray bar option b on the filter but i was worried about the surface water gettin dirty without the venturi powerhead swilling it around descions descions!!

I'm no expert but i cycled my 125l tank with the U3 on spray bar option it self. Also when i was doing the fishless cycle, i did not bother too much about the air stone and i let the biological film build up. Only when i got the fish after cycling and i put on the air stone. But i dont use the air stone anymore now that i got a lot more live plants and also fluval 305. Although my 305 output is not exactly near the surface causing bubbly agitation, my surface doesnt have a film anymore and stays clear and i position it towards the wall such that there is not enough water movement to bother the fish and plants.

There is a bit of current on the top edge on one side of the tank and harlequins love to play in the current whenever they want to. They make a line going just under the current one after the other, go into the current, pushed back by the current and get in line again. It's lovely to watch though. They are just like fighter jets.

I have a pearl gourami and since they are from still waters, surface agitation is currently less so as to not to bother him so much and he seems to be happy with it.

cheers for your advice i'll take it onboard and try the spray bar for awhile see how my gourami gets on!

 

[JMcQueen]

I have a fluval U4 and had a similar problem.

What I did was to use the spray bar setting, then buy a replacement foam insert and push the foam over the top and lower jet outputs so that the foam stays in place. This effectively works as a diffuser on the spray bar output.

At first, I found that it did too good a job and there was little surface agitation. So what I did was to put a knife slit down the centre of the foam in a narrow V pattern that doesnt join at the bottom (essentially two slits in a non joining \ / ). This has the effect of reducing the diffusing effect towards the top of the tank. You could even put a horizontal slit between the \ and / slits so long as it doesnt connect and cut a section out of the filter. It pretty much trial and error to get the flow rate you like.

I'll try and post a pic later on.

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

awesome suggestion but now i seem to be gettin the film back on the top of my water which i suspect is probably because the water level is so close to my lights? sighhhhh... what a pain to get right lol

 

[Arcane]

They make a line going just under the current one after the other, go into the current, pushed back by the current and get in line again. It's lovely to watch though. They are just like fighter jets.

I have to comment on this. My Dannios do a similar thing with my Fluval U4. When it's set so the current comes out from the bottom of the tube ('C' on the U4)... they seem to queue up at the bottom... swim into the current and then get swept up to the top.

I am sure they don't see it in quite the same way as we do... but through human eyes it looks so much fun!