Filter placement

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Jlombard80

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 18, 2020
Messages
44
Location
Boston, MA
Just curious, where do you all set up your filters and hoses inside and outside your tanks? My filter and hoses are positioned fine, but I’m not sure if my intake inside the tank and the exhaust are in the best spots. Right now they are auctioned a little off center to the right and I have the exhaust spout pointed slightly away from the intake almost directly toward the front center of the tank. This seems to be creating a pretty good current in there. Also, what is everyone’s thoughts on bubble walls? I have a 10” one but I’m not sure I need it since my exhaust line agitates the top of the water pretty well.
 
Hob filters are designed to push the water down and away from the intake. I try to replicate that with my canisters. Causing a small current towards the opposite side of the tank bottom pushing old water and detritus back toward the intake. Your wand doesn't hurt, but looking at your pic it's not really needed either. Your right, it's only there for surface agitation.
 
Just curious, where do you all set up your filters and hoses inside and outside your tanks? My filter and hoses are positioned fine, but I’m not sure if my intake inside the tank and the exhaust are in the best spots. Right now they are auctioned a little off center to the right and I have the exhaust spout pointed slightly away from the intake almost directly toward the front center of the tank. This seems to be creating a pretty good current in there. Also, what is everyone’s thoughts on bubble walls? I have a 10” one but I’m not sure I need it since my exhaust line agitates the top of the water pretty well.


The surface agitation looks ok for o2. Bubble wands are great for o2 but if running alone they are noisy, cause rapid evaporation and tend to keep mulm and detritus floating in the water column. They create a decent amount of flow though in a better pattern in my opinion because they are fitted across the back of the tank and they do well at keeping the lower portions of the tank well oxygenated. They can be kept going during a power outage by simply running the air pump off a battery and they pretty much last forever.

The issue with the pump in a bucket (canister filter) is that in 99% of cases they create too much water flow for the majority of tropical and amazonian fish we keep. This means normally our fish use more energy battling against these flow rates and as a result require more unnatural fish foods which then leads to more dirt, foulness and water changing as well as inevitably inducing algae.
Since a larger portion of your average aquarium fishes diet is made up of vegetation and detritus, they remove too much of this natural food and the larger flow rates means you rarely get to witness the inhabitants true behaviour. They are subject to rapid oxygen depletion during power outages which can kill off your whole biofilter. The net result is dead fish due to lack of oxygen and ammonia build up.

So kudos for thinking heavily about ensuring good oxygen levels but I wouldn’t go with either of these additions. A little dramatic I know but these filters really aren’t all that. Despite what we are led to believe.

What fish are you planning on keeping?
 
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