Need circulation advice!!

[Blackhawker]

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... atid=15955

What size should I get for a 75 gal aquarium and do you recommend these for added circulation for a tank. All I have is my two 2217 eheim spray bars and I would like more circulation. Thanks!!

[MatsP]

You get a more concentrated flow if you just remove the spray bar and let the flow straight out of the bigger pipe. I don't use spray bars on ANY of the external filters.

But for more effect than that, you obviously need to add another pump of some sort. The Koralia ones are pretty good and don't use much power, which is a very good thing.

Which size? Well, I guess it depends on how much more flow you want. The Koralia Nano runs 240 gph, so it's about 3x the 75g volume each hour - and (from memory) roughly the same as the Eheim 2017 - so with one of them, you'd go from 6x turnover to 9x turnover.

I think the 5 Magnum at 1650 gph would be a bit much - around 22x turnover rate. It's not exactly a whirlpool, but it's certainly quite a flow. So if you want more flow than that, considering that the prices is about 5x the Nano, I'd rather go for two or three of the Nano ones - gives you more flexibility as well as the ability to move things around to get the flow into different areas in the tank.

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Mats

[2wheelsx2]

I'm with Mats. The magnums would have too concentrated a flow. I run a 1 and a 2 in my 125 gallon along the back where I have no flow on the surface and down low. I do run spraybars in some of my tanks where I have them (fluvals don't come with them, so I don't run them with my fluvals), but I like the spread out flow for my CO2 distribution. I run Koralias in all my CO2 injected tanks to get proper circulation in all areas. If you are after flow in one specific area, you need to put on the concentrator that comes with it.

For a 75 gallon, depending on your aquascaping (plants, rocks, etc), I would run the 1050 max, but more likely the 750 (the older models like mine are discontinued and you can only get the evolution line now). http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... atid=21971

[Blackhawker]

Well I would be putting the unit near the gravel and having it create a current deep in the tank. I dont mind a few "dead" spots in the tank where the fish can rest without a current.

[2wheelsx2]

If you get one of the magnums, it'll probably blow your gravel around, depending on how you have it aimed. If you've never used one of these before, I can assure, the flow stream is extremely strong. They are very very efficient powerheads.

[Blackhawker]

I've got only two plecos at the moment and the poop piles are stacking.....so you think anything less then a magnum can prevent much of the piles?

[MatsP]

I've got only two plecos at the moment and the poop piles are stacking.....so you think anything less then a magnum can prevent much of the piles?

That sounds more like a task for a gravel vac....

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Mats

[2wheelsx2]

Yeah, I don't think you want to blow that stuff around, at least not the heavies. What I do is get the flow to blow that stuff into the corners and then I just gravel vac it up during a water change.

[Blackhawker]

I gravel vac almost daily...how many times a week do you guys vac?

[2wheelsx2]

Wow....what size are your plecos? I do it only once a week, maybe once every 2 weeks. But my main mixed pleco tank is a 125 gallon.

[MatsP]

Yes, what are your plecos, and what do you feed them?

I do gravel vac in my Panaque maccus and P. sp(L191) quite frequently, but only maybe a couple of times a week at most. Of course, there are "black snowdrifts" at that point...

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Mats

[Blackhawker]

4 inch L128, 2-3 inch Royal..........I feed them a diverse diet.....yam, algae wafers, lots of wood to graze, zuchinni, and romaine lettice

[2wheelsx2]

Wow, you must want your tank spotless, since I have a 5" L190, and 6 L128's in my 125 gallon, plus a lot of other plecos, and cories in my tank and I only vacuum once a week max.

[Blackhawker]

Pardon my questions, but that is including your water changes too right? Once a week? Yeah I guess when I see the piles it drives me nuts so i have to vac them hahah.

[2wheelsx2]

I do a 50 - 60% water change once a week regardless of whether I vacuum or not. Some weeks, if I haven't fed a lot of yams and zucchini, I just use a pump to pump out 60 gallons or so of water. However, I must qualify that my tank is fairly heavily planted and I have 3 canister filters on it along with the powerheads, so there is a lot of water movements which push the general detritus into the corners where I can vacuum it.