View Full Version : flow rates
MrCracker2u
03-20-2007, 10:41 AM
I am setting up a 240gln tankthat I will plant and stock heavily. I am looking for some info on flow rates. What is the optimal flow rate for a general aplication of a variety of plants?
Ketso
03-20-2007, 11:34 AM
I could be wrong, but I dont think plants "require" any flow in particular. So, I dont think there is such a thing as an "optimal" flow rate.
As for flow rates for your filters, I have seen recommendations for flow rates being anywhere from 4 to 10 times the size of your tank. ie: for your 240, a flow rate of 960gph (gallons per hour) up to 2400gph.
4 to 5 times the tank makes more sense to me though.
Your mostly just trying to avoid having dead spots. For a 240g aquarium you should probably have something like a pair of cannister filters along with two to four powerheads as needed. Flow rates that are given by manufacturers can be fairly misleading. That is to say the rating on the box is generally for a pump that is sitting in a bucket of water with zero head height and no tubing or filter material to push water thru. Because of the amount of variables actual flow rates are generally no higher than about 70% of the rating given for a cannister filter. If the head height is fairly tall or you use several micro filtration pads you can easily go below 50% of the given rating.
For a planted aquarium instead of worrying too much about the actual numbers you should make certain that you can see the water flow in the aquarium. That is to say you should be able to see your plants sway back and forth in the current. If they are laying on their sides then you've definitely gone overboard.
MrCracker2u
03-23-2007, 11:06 AM
I have alot of parts laying around from old reef tanks. I was thinking about incorperating a scwid and some of the technics on flow from those experiences. I should have no dead spots with a well planned out return manifold. I have some small pumps and a few big pumps.
I see alot of people advocating low flow across the boards is there a provenb benifit to this??? Does anyone know of any links on this topic???