Lack Of Flow In Planted Tank.

[JoshuaA]

Hey,

I started CO2 about 2 months ago upgraded to T5 only a few weeks back if some of you remember.

A new problem is emerged, one which I completely over looked. With the added benefits of CO2 and High Light many of my plants are growing at rate I never imagined possible. My amazon swords which I initially believed to have become stunted in growth have actually pushed out leaves within days and out grown all previous ones. My crinum thaianum has reached the surface and just like vallis is stretch outwards like tree roots.

My problem is this... with all this added plant mass the flow of water is being slowed considerably and with my Amazon frogbit rebounding from a recent melting about 1/3 of the surface of the tank isn't being agitatated and this is with Co2 being injected. It not only could pose a possible Co2 problem I have concerns the rapid growth may cause nutrient distribution problems with some areas of the tank becoming rather still, a lot of the mid/low level of the tank has noticeable circulation but on one side on the top part of the tank the water is so still I can see perfectly to the bottom.

I also regularly trim my plants to keep them growing in the shape I want them too as well as pruning leaves which aren't growing so well.

Should I rearrange my plants or simply add a powerhead?

My tank is a 125 Juwel Rio running an Fluval 205 filter so flow was never really strong in the first place but was ample to begin with.

If powerheads are the answer, can anyone recommend me some reasonably priced ones? I almost threw up when I saw the price in my LFS wanting £35 for a "basic" one. In essence it's an underwater fan so any recommendations would be great.

 

[dayzofspeed]

maybe you could look into say a replacement pump from a small water feature, they shouldn't be too expensive and should push your water round for you and would have suckers for attaching to the tank wall as well it would also act as an extra biological filter as they usually have a small foam filter attached.... just a thought

 

[ian]

IME flow is just as important as every other component in a planted tank. Adding a Koralia nano, would suite your tank. You may have to spend a little time positioning around the tank to get on top of the dead spots. I don't have any experience with other powerheads, i do recommend Koralia's though. You can pick one up for £20 delivered on the net. I bought mine from my lfs for £25. It's worth having one though.

 

[pauld]

IME flow is just as important as every other component in a planted tank. Adding a Koralia nano, would suite your tank. You may have to spend a little time positioning around the tank to get on top of the dead spots. I don't have any experience with other powerheads, i do recommend Koralia's though. You can pick one up for £20 delivered on the net. I bought mine from my lfs for £25. It's worth having one though.

have a look on e bay for Koralia's i got a koralia 4 from a shop in epping for under £30 brand new .

 

[GrayScale]

+1 on the powerhead. I bought a koralia 240gph which is the smallest I could find from my lfs but it does wonders. Not only does it help distribute nutrients but it will also help remove dead spots which may cause some algae; especially in high light planted setups.

 

[JoshuaA]

Alright, I will no doubt get round to ordering it tomorrow.

With regards to placement, should I be placing the power head in the dead spot and pushing water away towards a more current ctive spot? Or should I be placing the power head in a current active place and pumping it towards a dead spot?

 

[lljdma06]

Alright, I will no doubt get round to ordering it tomorrow.

With regards to placement, should I be placing the power head in the dead spot and pushing water away towards a more current ctive spot? Or should I be placing the power head in a current active place and pumping it towards a dead spot?

My guess is to pump it towards the dead spot.

 

[GrayScale]

Towards. Since powerheads are unidirectional, the flow coming out is more concentrated to a smaller are and the farther the flow pushes out, the greater the movement created.

Think of it like a cone, I will use } as the powerhead and < as the flow.

-} <

 

[lljdma06]

Towards. Since powerheads are unidirectional, the flow coming out is more concentrated to a smaller are and the farther the flow pushes out, the greater the movement created.

Think of it like a cone, I will use } as the powerhead and < as the flow.

-} <

So I was right! woohoo! Wonderful illustration GrayScale...

 

[waterdrop]

Hey Joshua, I use a Koralia Nano and it's worked well for me. Actually, my dream would be for them to make one half the power of the nano that you could sprinkle several of around the tank in spots where you want them, lol. I keep trying it in radically different positions, I even have it on a light timer to create yet another variation in the tank.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[JoshuaA]

Towards. Since powerheads are unidirectional, the flow coming out is more concentrated to a smaller are and the farther the flow pushes out, the greater the movement created.

Think of it like a cone, I will use } as the powerhead and < as the flow.

-} <

You made me hit myself for asking that now haha.

Will be ordering one later today then, loving the effect both CO2 and blindingly bright lights have on this tank now.

 

[GrayScale]

Haha I didn't know I had that effect on people . Maybe I should try it more often. It's always a better idea to have multiple smaller ones as opposed to one big one as well, you get more positioning options. Hmm don't take that the wrong way .

I've got a circluar current in my tank. Water is pushed out and across the other side of my tank with my filter outflow and then pulled in and back across the front side by the powerhead.

 

[JoshuaA]

Alright just ordered the Koralia Nano 900, £19.99 I think it was so I'm not feeling too hard done by!

Hopefully I'll find space for another plug!

 

[JoshuaA]

My Koralina nano thing finally came today... Wow it really is nano sized haha, I was questioning whether anything was in the box when I got it... In fact the picture of the box is much bigger on my pc than it is in real life!

Have been trying to set it up in an ideal position but I think this is going to be trial and error for a while!

 

[GrayScale]

Indeed positioning is trial and error for sure. In my biotope with co2 injection, my co2 bubbles out of the diffuser into the tank, floats to the surface and gets pushed to the other side of the tank. The powerhead then grabs it and pushes back across the front to it's starting side.

Even though my plants are in the corner covering the intake and outflow, I get the best growth on the opposite back corner of the tank due to the flow and where the co2 ends up after it diffuses.

So in my experience position is based on current flow before powerhead, positioning of plants in relation to dead spots, and wher your co2 is diffused and how it currently moves around the tank.

I'll take a picture later and make a nice little paint illustration of my tank to show you my flow to give you a little better idea.