SeanTrollope
Fish Addict
How many l/ hour does your filter have to pump to be sufficient for 100 l
Liters Per Hour
- Thread starter SeanTrollope
- Start date
You want your filter turning over the entire tank volume between 5 and ten times per hour, depending on your stocking and type of tank.
People who keep heavily planted tanks, or fish that like a lot of flow, need to be near the top end of that range, while the average community tank will be fine with a bit less.
People who keep heavily planted tanks, or fish that like a lot of flow, need to be near the top end of that range, while the average community tank will be fine with a bit less.
TwoTankAmin
Fish Maniac
The answer really depends on what sort of fish one keeps and whether they will use something else besides the filter for circulation. Most filters is the hobby have flow rates that are too high for optimal filtration. However, for many of us it is necessary to combine these two jobs into a single piece of equipment- the filter.
Believe or not, one can produce flow in a tank that is not forceful but does provide whatever needed level of circulation is required. With plants flow is important to insure nutrients are available but if one's flow is in the upper range suggested above, their plants will all be leaning rather than erect, especially those near a filter, powerhead or pump output. I ran my high tech co2 added 50 gal. tank using a single Eheim Pro II canister with a max. flow rate of 250 gph. The tank ran fine for 12 years and I lost very few fish.
I am currently switching my filtration over to a whole different system. As part of this I am setting up a sump on a 125 gal. tank. Here is what I was told by a microbiologist fishkeepr I should have for the sump media and turnover rate in response to asking how much media and what flow rate he would suggest:
The sump will hold 25 gals. So I will be turning over the water volume between 2.66 and 3.3times an hour via the filter. The fish that will be in there need more current than that and I will meet that need with an additional piece of equipment or two to handle that need.
All that said, there is no reason on most tanks why a single filter cannot do the same job. However, this means one has to do more weekly maint. to keep things flowing through the filter and there will be less denitrification going on in one's media. It may also mean one has more of the needed bacteria in their tank living other places besides the filter.
When it comes to filtration. Media volume is more important than a higher turnover rate. And since the media is merely acting as a host for the microorganisms that actually do the filtering work, the longer the water is in contact with them, the more effective a filter can be. However, in the end what is important is that whatever method we chose to use, that the result is a tank with conditions that are "good" for our fish etc. What we do not want to do is to equate higher filter flow rates with more effective filtration.
Believe or not, one can produce flow in a tank that is not forceful but does provide whatever needed level of circulation is required. With plants flow is important to insure nutrients are available but if one's flow is in the upper range suggested above, their plants will all be leaning rather than erect, especially those near a filter, powerhead or pump output. I ran my high tech co2 added 50 gal. tank using a single Eheim Pro II canister with a max. flow rate of 250 gph. The tank ran fine for 12 years and I lost very few fish.
I am currently switching my filtration over to a whole different system. As part of this I am setting up a sump on a 125 gal. tank. Here is what I was told by a microbiologist fishkeepr I should have for the sump media and turnover rate in response to asking how much media and what flow rate he would suggest:
To your questions:
For a sump, I recommend an easy version: http/www.swisstropicals.com/wp_site/wp-content/uploads/Sump-layout.pdf
In your case I would got with:
1x 3" 10 ppi
2-3x 3" 20 ppi (use one you got and add two more)
1x 3" 30 ppi
Space them about 1" apart. I would pump only about 400-500 gal/h. That's about it. I hope that helps!
The sump will hold 25 gals. So I will be turning over the water volume between 2.66 and 3.3times an hour via the filter. The fish that will be in there need more current than that and I will meet that need with an additional piece of equipment or two to handle that need.
All that said, there is no reason on most tanks why a single filter cannot do the same job. However, this means one has to do more weekly maint. to keep things flowing through the filter and there will be less denitrification going on in one's media. It may also mean one has more of the needed bacteria in their tank living other places besides the filter.
When it comes to filtration. Media volume is more important than a higher turnover rate. And since the media is merely acting as a host for the microorganisms that actually do the filtering work, the longer the water is in contact with them, the more effective a filter can be. However, in the end what is important is that whatever method we chose to use, that the result is a tank with conditions that are "good" for our fish etc. What we do not want to do is to equate higher filter flow rates with more effective filtration.
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