Filter current looks too strong

I'm very new to this.

I was foolish enough to accept that a plain 20L tank was enough for 3 1" orandas and 3 white clouds.

Several posts will cover bits of this if you want to catch up - but you don't need to ...

First Help Post

"Don't worry, you'll be fine"

Anyway I'm up to the point where I've bought a few critical things to get the 20L to start cycling and hopefully keep my little charges alive while I sort out a larger tank .......


So I added my filter - it's the smallest I could get - suitable for up to 30 L - It's a Hydor. Never heard of 'em, not that I've heard of any filter maker! It's a basic filter - suction pad attached to the side of the tank - fully immersed - pulls water in through its side and through a spongy material and then up through the motor and out a vent pointing away from the side it's stuck to.

I set the control to mid-way and stuck it to the side of the tank and plugged it in.

Woah - there was a serious current in my tank - that's not right.

So I took it out again - set the setting to min and put it back in on the side of the tank - still a pretty serious current.

So I did a rethink and stuck it to the back of the tank near one end with the flow going forward and I moved the Eloida so the flow streamed into it in an attempt to break up the flow a bit.

But there is still a fair bit of water movement - the fish are fairly active and I'm not entirely sure they're happy about things. But they tend to get that way when I move things around so it's not clear how much is due to the change and how much is the current.

There are places in the tank which appear to have fairly quiet water, but the orandas seem to be swimming into the current a bit and occasionally one or another seems to be being pushed along a bit.

I'm wondering if they might get exhausted having to be more active than before - and it just seems to me that there is too much movement in the tank for them.

.... an hour later (I forgot to submit !) they seem less active and I'm a bit less worried - but the orandas do seem to be spending a lot of time in the cornor opposite the filter and the white clouds in the centre, which looks calmer.

I'm guessing that the orandas are less fond of currents as they have a lot of fin area to get pushed around whereas the white clouds are very streamlined and seem well capable. But I believed the Pet Shop Guy so I have fairly extensive credulity.

Any thoughts ?

Thank you.

Yes, there is no easy way to direct the flow - it comes out away from the wall it's stuck to.

But I do feel that the current is a bit strong for the orandas so I will look at they type of things you suggest such as slowing the exit water with some filter materil of some type - or rigging up some type of redirection myself.

Thanks for pointing out that I shouldn't use general household material as a filter - I'd not have though of that - but as you say, they can often be impregnated with bacteriacides for fungicides.

John.

Thanks for these suggestions - I'll investigate the elbow bend idea and see if I can find an inert one that fits.

In the meantime I have moved the filter to a horizontal position on the back of the tank near the bottom so the flow is running foward along one of the side walls and I have placed a couple of stones in the flow - but not actually obstructing the outlet. This seems to have reduced the effect of the flow on the rest of the tank.

John.

Thanks Lhorn,

No need for a diagram - I can see what you are sugesting.

I'm an engineer by profession so I have no difficulty working out a solution - my query was more about whether a current is a problem or not.

My initial positioning was based on pictures of other people's tanks.

As I am now set up there doesn't seem to be a problem in the tank - the stones and plant difuse the flow sufficiently that there is no overall current (there had been a circular (oval) current going right around the tankwhich I did think was a problem.

But for all I know the fish may have loved it - I just know so little about them.

John.