My Annual Review

[Lufbramatt]

hmmmm, that sounds like an excellent proposition. However it does mean invesment in 2 spary bar kits and at least 1 set of new pipes (current ones will not be long enough to reach both ends of the tank).

yet another thing that I have to collect change for (no bank card traceability), hide in a secret location until enough is available, then sneak the parts into the house under the wifedar.......how I will ever manage that with the 4ft piece of wood I've got my eye on is beyond me.

I've found spraybars don't create as high a water velocity as a nozzle as they are exhausting the water over a bigger area, helping to avoid moving the sand around. don't have to pay for expensive kits, just buy some PVC pipe slightly bigger than the internal diameter of your tubing, drill a series of holes, couple of sucker clips, end cap, job done

 

[shelaghfishface]

I can only see 1 problem. That's not my tank lol. Really nice set up mate

took the words right out of my mouth

 

[ZoddyZod]

I've found spraybars don't create as high a water velocity as a nozzle as they are exhausting the water over a bigger area, helping to avoid moving the sand around. don't have to pay for expensive kits, just buy some PVC pipe slightly bigger than the internal diameter of your tubing, drill a series of holes, couple of sucker clips, end cap, job done

top idea! Nice little shed project for me.

I can only see 1 problem. That's not my tank lol. Really nice set up mate

took the words right out of my mouth

why thank you both!

Shelagh.....good to see you around on here again.

 

[Mowbz]

You certainly cant miss the thing! Has more presence than my 340ltr thats for sure. Yours really "jumps" off the stand at you. What tank is it, if you dont mind?

yeah, the wife wasn't so keen on the size of it when it arrived. I may have downplayed it slightly. It's a Fluval Osaka 320L. Sadly they don't make them anymore (possibly due to a massive design flaw that I am yet to discover!)

Going to look on eBay Stunning tank.

So whats this design flaw?

 

[ZoddyZod]

Going to look on eBay Stunning tank.

So whats this design flaw?

well hopefully there isn't one, but can't fathom the reason they stopped making them. One of the best ranges for aesthetics that I've seen.

I found a fair few when I was hunting on eBay. There are smaller models as well, the 155 and the 240 I think. Fluval still has the range on their website.

 

[coldcazzie]

Reading through the whole post, the only things that jumped out for me were the 7 harlequins, i think i would bump that up to 10+,

Agree with this wholeheartedly.

the plants do 'ok', not brilliantly so might up the dose

Try not to get too caught up in the numbers - if their growth could be improved, increase the amount, give it a month and reassess, if you're still not happy, increase it further. However, as Tizer said, premixed can get expensive if you're dosing larger amounts, so might be worth looking at mixing the salts. It's not difficult

yeah, the wife wasn't so keen on the size of it when it arrived.

And again.......

are you suggesting my male appendage was delivered to me???

yet another thing that I have to collect change for (no bank card traceability), hide in a secret location until enough is available, then sneak the parts into the house under the wifedar.......how I will ever manage that with the 4ft piece of wood I've got my eye on is beyond me.

I have a savings account specially for squirrelling away bits of cash I've raised - it is currently designated the new tank fund. In my name only of course, so he's no access to it
(edited to add: although, as I have control of the finances, it makes it rather easy for me to squirrel things away without him noticing... not sure how it would work if it were the other way around... )

I've found spraybars don't create as high a water velocity as a nozzle as they are exhausting the water over a bigger area, helping to avoid moving the sand around. don't have to pay for expensive kits, just buy some PVC pipe slightly bigger than the internal diameter of your tubing, drill a series of holes, couple of sucker clips, end cap, job done

I found the same thing - the circulation in my 240L is much improved since removing the spray bar. In a not-heavily-planted tank, the uniformity of the current is less important than the strength of it I've found, and I found the spray bars killed the current so badly that they just weren't worth it.
If you remember though, when I had all those problems with perpetual BGA, a hm spray bar that covered the whole of the back of the tank was the clincher in the battle - and I did the same thing: bit of pipe with some hand-drilled holes and it worked a treat.

 

[ZoddyZod]

I found the same thing - the circulation in my 240L is much improved since removing the spray bar. In a not-heavily-planted tank, the uniformity of the current is less important than the strength of it I've found, and I found the spray bars killed the current so badly that they just weren't worth it.
If you remember though, when I had all those problems with perpetual BGA, a hm spray bar that covered the whole of the back of the tank was the clincher in the battle - and I did the same thing: bit of pipe with some hand-drilled holes and it worked a treat.

I'm slightly confused by this.....you do or do not recommend using spray bars?

 

[coldcazzie]

Sorry I don't particularly do either. If someone has found a spray bar useful (as I did at one point) then great. If they don't (as I currently don't), fair enough. It depends on what you're looking for in a tank. Spraybars reduce the overall flow rate, but they make the flow more uniform.

 

[Tizer]

I use spray bars to help distribute Co2 as i've got an inline diffuser. That said, i am pondering knocking off the 2nd spray bar on the 2nd filter.

 

[Lufbramatt]

Sorry I don't particularly do either. If someone has found a spray bar useful (as I did at one point) then great. If they don't (as I currently don't), fair enough. It depends on what you're looking for in a tank. Spraybars reduce the overall flow rate, but they make the flow more uniform.

Careful with terms here. Spray bars don't reduce the flow rate, they reduce the flow velocity but spread the flow over a bigger area. The flow rate (ie litres per hour) will be pretty much the same. If you make your own spray bars you can have high velicity flow like a nozzle (using few/small holes) or low velocity flow (using lots/bigger holes). They need to be tuned to the flow rate of the filter to get the right effect.

Also some fish (lots of riverine species) like the high flow velocity of a nozzle, whereas the Tanganyikan cichlids I keep seem to prefer less current in the tank. Overall the amount of water circulated around the tank will be the same though.