Aquatic Plant Forum banner

Water flow/circulation in the aquarium

4K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  A_Shea 
#1 ·
I am looking to increase the water flow in my aquarium in an attempt to eliminate bba. have an Eheim 2217, a HOT magnum filter and the Hagen elite mini (niko's DIY co2 reactor). How many powerheads should I have in a 55 gallon aquarium and what would be the ideal flow rate?
 
#2 ·
I've seen BBA grow in low-flow and very high-flow areas, so I don't know if it's ever been proven that not enough flow causes BBA. Personally I had a 72g setup for years with just a Eheim 2236 (less flow than a 2217) and didn't have any bba or other problems. What is your lighting schedule and co2 levels. If you can I would increase co2, reduce lighting duration and stay on top of your filter cleaning possibily adding Purigen or other organic remover to your filter media.
 
#5 ·
I don't know all the parameters of your tank, but are you running the 4 wpg all 7hrs. If yes, I would reduce if possible the other bank of lights to only 3/4 hrs, plus increase co2 if you can. I don't test anything either, but I run co2 as high as I can during day and turn off at night. I would say I'm running twice what you are on high-light tanks. Also doesn't hurt to stay on top of water changes and add purigen to filter.
 
#7 ·
I agree the Koralias are excellent for increasing the flow around a tank. I have one so in my 180l tank so the flow (including the filter) is just over 10 times the volume.

However I agree with the others that BBA is most often linked to CO2 so unless your circulation is so poor that the CO2 rich water isn't getting circulated well enough I'd look at CO2 levels first.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top