tapscrew

Hi all,

How many times should the water pass through the filter per hour for good condition? its only a 25 liter tank and I want it stuffed with plants

Michael

Opinion varies greatly! Five to ten times per hour is the usual range of recommendations.

Zapins

I agree with Michael 5-10x an hour is a good ballpark estimate. Though the size of the filter also makes a difference. You want to give beneficial bacteria as much surface area as possible to break down wastes.

Tugg

Another reason for the huge range, is because there is a difference between circulation in the tank, and circulation through the filter. The saltwater/reef community seems to be moving to powerheads in the tank providing a 10x (or even greater) turnover within the main tank. However the filter is on the lower, more managable side at about 5x. Allowing its media more contact time and the ability to use lower power pumps.

On the same token, such a small tank, and stuffed full of plants, you may not even require a filter. Just a power head to push the water/nutrients around may suffice. Though I personally would always want some dedicated filtration.

tapscrew

ok, thanks for the advice, i definitely want to filter the water, but i don't want too large a filter as it will take up too much space especially as the tank is so small. It has to be an internal filter as the tank has a fitted glass lid which i have to have on as cats and open tanks don't mix! (i could loose the cats, but sadly others in the house cant- damn it!)

Zapins

Haha. Just be happy if your cats don't take an interest in the fish. Some don't care for fish and others can't stop trying to go fishing...

tapscrew

believe me these cats would be IN the tank given half the chance!!

Skizhx

A tank that small would be perfectly fine left stagnant, if planted heavily enough...

In other words any circulation is plenty...

IMO the 10x turnover rate is a bit too strong on most tanks. Generally I've found the fish have to fight against it a bit all the time. I've also found it rips some plants out of the ground if they don't have a good root system established yet.