Water flow in the seawater aquarium
June 13, 2007 · Print This Article
Whether the aquarist owns a salt water fish only or [tag-tec]reef aquarium[/tag-tec], water movement is of very great importance.
Seawater quality is measured by test kits, such as Ph, alkalinity, nitrate etc. It could be argued that another part of seawater quality is its movement. Sluggish movement, or movement of the incorrect type, can have very detrimental consequences. [Read more]
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Good post. I’ve been tank sitting for a colleague and quickly realized that his tank was not getting enough circulation … coincidentally the same week I bought a powerhead for my tank. Now I’m attempting to treat his fish for Ick/Ich and have, unfortuantely, already lost two fish since he’s been gone (sigh). Anyway, just wanted to see keep up the good work because we really enjoy reading your blog. Take care!
Thanks Jeffry, glad you enjoyed the post and I hope it was helpful.
Sorry to hear that you have lost two fish - have you tried treating the aquarium with garlic or enriching the food you feed with vitamins - this is something I have found very effective in the past.
Thanks again for the kind comments.
An aquarium specialist did the initial set up of my 1600litre salt water fish only acquarium at home. He has undersized the sump tank which is only 200 litre used trickle filter method and 3000l/hr pump and it is inlet valve is restricted to 50%. i have installed 4 5000l/hr power head inside the tank. I am bit worried about the oxygen supply and carry over the waste.
Hello Vasanthi.
A larger sump probably would have been better, but any sump increases the gallonage of the system and is beneficial in that way.
Trickle filters are fine - in fact they are very efficient because of the amount of oxygen available to the bacteria. The only ‘problem’ with them is that they deal with ammonia and nitrite, produce nitrate and at that point the Nitrogen Cycle stops. Nitrate tests are necessary (as they are anyway but more particularly with a trickle filter). Routine seawater changes usually deal with the problem, but if an excess nitrate level persists there are other ways of tackling it.
In a display aquarium the guidelines (these are not absolutes) for seawater circulation are :
soft corals times 10.
hard corals times 20.
This refers to the total water movement of the net gallonage in the display aquarium generated by the pumps (it excludes the sump).
With water movement similar to the above the oxygen should be fine. Oxygen is also taken in, of course, at the water surface in the sump, and also at the trickle filter.