Current in tank too strong?

[bluerose]

My new tetras seem to be having trouble in the tank... they're sort of getting shoved around a lot. The cory cats get swooshed if they're by where the current hits the gravel too.

What can I do to soften it?

I was thinking cutting up a piece of super-absorbent towel (don't have sponges) to stick to where the water goes back into the tank to slow it down but I'm afraid the filter will back up into the lid (it's a Jebo if that helps- the water goes up into the lid through a tube, then gets poured on top of the filter where it trickles through).

Can't see any place to adjust the current. The thing came with a very bad diagram and no other instructions...

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

what size filter is it? Most times its almost impossible to have too much current(except for certain fish)

I have Endlers in my 55G and they like to zoom with the current, then go back upstream, sometimes they are near the outlet and get floped around some but they seem to enjoy it

 

[bluerose]

it is a Jebo 338. The filter says FLmax: 400 L/H on the sticker.

there's not a whole lot of places to go out of the current except for the bottom corners of the tank (one of which is the intake) and behind the piece of wood.

If all works out I would like to get a betta as well- don't they prefer calmer water?

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

If its a 10 gallon or below.. get a new filter from petsmart, petland or petco. they run around 20 bucks. if your current is a undergravel its worth the 20 bucks mine let me adjust how much is filtered by blocking off the inlet tube via a valve type setup

 

[JohnPaul]

That's way too big of a filter for that small of a tank. No wonder the poor fish are getting thrown around!

I would second the opinion that you invest in a different filter. For a tank that small, you could actually do nothing more than a sponge filter, which has the advantage of providing filtering as well as a little oxygenation. If you decide to go that route, I would recommend either the Hydro Sponge I or the Hydro Sponge II. Both are rated for tanks up to 20 gallons, so it's just a matter of which of the two shapes you think would look better in your tank.

Or, if you wanted something a little more substantial, I would recommend you buy the absolute smallest size AquaClear HOB (hang-on-back) filter, which would be the AquaClear 20. Of all the various brands of HOB filters, many of us have found AquaClear to make the highest quality ones. That being said, you will probably still have to do something to mitigate the current; just temporarily I have an AquaClear 20 on a 10 gallon tank I am working on cycling, and it creates quite a bit of current. I am currently using this nifty trick to help break up the current somewhat, and it helps for sure. I have also found in the past if it seems the outflow current is a little strong from a filter, you can strategically place your largest piece of driftwood in the path of the current, which will somewhat naturally break it up so that the current gets softened some.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

The AC20 states 378L/hr flow, but it is adjustable down to 124L/hr. I'm running one full out on my 10G and its not too much so I would say that your prob alright as they are all overstated

 

[saffikeagan]

To quote John Paul:
Here's a nifty trick I've used before when trying to reduce current in a small tank:

DIY trick for reducing current flow

Another thing I've done to reduce flow even more is to grab an extra filter sponge (or anything similar to that) and rubber band it so that it is right up against the filter outflow. That cuts down the force of the current to almost zero.

And the last trick that can sometimes be used (especially if you need to reduce current just a little bit and not a lot) is to strategically position a large piece of driftwood (or any other rock/decoration) so that it is right in front of where the filter outflow comes.

 

[bluerose]

The filter is in the lid and I really don't want to replace it. It came with the tank. I will say the water is certainly well oxygenated though! even with the water level completely full there are bubbles floating about.

The output is at the top of the tank so I can't really block it in any way with decorations (plus I quite like my current setup, just needs more plants to fill in gaps). I could probably put a sponge/similar material (would felt or similar work? it's sort of a long and narrow area so thinner would be better, can tuck it under an edge of the filter media I think)

The tetras don't seem to mind too much now that they've settled in... they sort of zoom everywhere they go... the cories are the ones with the problem (can't stay in one place long enough to suck up algae!).

 

[new2betas]

To quote John Paul:
Here's a nifty trick I've used before when trying to reduce current in a small tank:

DIY trick for reducing current flow

Another thing I've done to reduce flow even more is to grab an extra filter sponge (or anything similar to that) and rubber band it so that it is right up against the filter outflow. That cuts down the force of the current to almost zero.

And the last trick that can sometimes be used (especially if you need to reduce current just a little bit and not a lot) is to strategically position a large piece of driftwood (or any other rock/decoration) so that it is right in front of where the filter outflow comes.

This is exactly what I was doing to reduce the current in my 10g for my male betta, but then I bought the AquaClear 20 and it works fabulously in my 10g tank....couldn't be happier and neither could my betta! (Sounded like a commercial for AquaClear didn't it? LOL!)

 

[Alaris]

If all works out I would like to get a betta as well- don't they prefer calmer water?

You currently have too many occupants to add a betta to this tank. /Maybe/ a female betta /might/ work. But not a male. And yes they do like still waters.

 

[bluerose]

OK, well, I tucked a bit of felt-like material against the outflow.

STOPPED the outflow. It overflowed into the next compartment of the lid and out (luckily, back into the tank...)

so that's a no go.

the plastic bottle trick won't work with this setup unfortunately. I could modify it... maybe...

I really can't have an HOB filter with this (it won't fit with the lid and with the location it's in there's no room in the back and there's no other place for it to go). Unless I can find a smaller one that's built the same way and will fit I think I'm probably stuck with this filter.

Everybody seems to be adapting... but they're not using all of the tank by any stretch of the imagination and half the time they're all behind the driftwood and you can't see them at all.

 

[Purrbox]

You could put a sponge prefilter over the intake, this would slow the speed that the water is drawn into the filter and therefore also slow the speed that it is returned to the filter.

 

[bluerose]

So I realized I got a couple of other things with the filter that I completely forgot about.

It came with two 'baskets' for the intake- one rounded and one more pointy- and along with the filter media (the blue fuzzy/black plastic cartridge) there was a white fuzzy pad... is that supposed to go somewhere?

The thing didn't really come with instructions, just a diagram of how it looks put together (without the cartridge in)...

 

[Purrbox]

I'm sure those are supposed to be added as well, and will probably slow the flow some as a result. I'm not familiar with the filter so I'm not exactly sure where everything should go.