Canister filter creating too much current

[EvaporatingFish]

so im fairly new to aquariums, had a 10 Gallon aquarium for about 3 months and then decided to get a 45 Gallon aquarium. Ive got it set up with a Fluval 306 Canister filter with one tray for mechanical, one tray completely full of Biohome Ultimate media, and the third tray half full of Biohome Ultimate media with carbon filters on top of them. ive got it set to highest output so it can go through as much water as possible but its causing a high current (even at lower output levels). i put a Rainbow shark and 4 platies in the other day to get the tank started. (i cycled it for a month/used bacteria starter/ and used 4 bioballs that came with my Biohome Ultimate media before anyone asks).

The rainbow Shark is obviously not bothered by the high current since he chills at the bottom and i know they like current. but the platies seem like they have trouble eating and just swimming around when they get to about the top 1/4 of the tank. will the current bother them in the long run or will they simply adapt to it? if the current is too much for them, rather then lowering the output of the filter (which still seems to be hard on the platies), can i just build a spraybar out of pvc pipe to reduce the current? i imagine having multiple outputs for the water rather than the one that was included with my canister would help reduce it enough to keep it at full output but reduce the current at the same time. am i right to think this or do i just need to keep the filter at lower output and hope it doesnt bother the platies as much as it seems to? i want to get more platies and if they cant handle the current i need to know what to do before adding more.

thanks for any help

 

[EvaporatingFish]

in case you were wondering what biohome is, here's a link to a video. it's not exactly well known. at least not in the U.S.. hopefully it's as good as it sounds

 

[Old Scales]

Spraybars are a popular way to disperse flow. You are thinking correctly. The larger canisters come with a dual funnel outflow pipe which splits the flow. I've been trying to find one like it that would fit the smaller 206/306 hose but no luck yet. OS.

 

[treemanone2003]

Agree with OS about building the spray bar as it will help but IME with the Fluval line, that canister is way overrated for that size tank. Until you do the spray bar, I've not tried myself and just thought of this, remove the discharge nozzle and let it flow straight down. Let me know what happens. Worst it could do temporarily is disturb some substrate directly below.

 

[aqua_chem]

I agree a spray bar is a good option. You can also put a ball valve on the output to reduce the output to a desire level.


http://www.marineandreef.com/Two_Li...RTL54552.htm?gclid=CIHVgo3ehb4CFbFaMgodbwYA7w

 

[Khuligirl93]

All the above suggestions are great.
I just want to add one thing. Did you add a source of ammonia when you cycled your tank in order to feed the beneficial bacteria? And did you make sure your tank could completely cycle ammonia through to nitrate in 24 hours before adding fish? In my experience and hearing from others as well, sometimes when fish are stressed from ammonia or nitrites in the water, they become ill and have trouble swimming. This may result in them struggling in the current or even being sucked onto the filter intake. I have heard people say so many times that "my fish died because it got sucked up by my filter" which is most likely probably not the case, because healthy fish should be able to swim through fairly strong current just fine. Usually a fish will only become sucked to a filter intake or pushed around by the current if it is already suffering from other health issues caused by bad water quality.
I'm not sure if this is what's happening in your tank, it might not be. Just wanted to put this out there in case someone is searching the forum thinking their strong current is killing their fish when in fact an un-cycled tank is the culprit

 

[mrvincent]

Do you have a spray bar on the canister output ?

Fluval 306 is good for your tank size (for the flow).

 

[EvaporatingFish]

i added ammonia and got it to where it could convert it to nitrite within 36-48 hours then put 1 Rainbow Shark and 4 Twinbars in (those twinbars are serious poop machines. i only feed them once a day right now). im still doing water testing on a daily basis and ammonia hasnt gone above .50ppm. i do a 25% water change anytime it hits .25ppm just to be safe along with my normal cleaning days.

i used a 1/2" cpvc pipe and drilled holes into to it. its now connected to my canister. it actually is really nice. the current is strong but not too much for the platys. the current is angled up a bit so it pushes the water up but doesnt break the surface noisily which is helping aerate the tank much better (i assume and hope)

only one fish is acting strangely. i keep catching one of the twinbars against the wall/decorations/anything really, with his tail against it and kind of curved. no idea what that could be. but he seems fine and shows no sign of sickness or injury when swimming.

 

[mrvincent]

Maybe a kind of ich, you'll see soon if this is that. (White spots)

I always quarantine new fishs in my 10g tank...

 

[Khuligirl93]

Ammonia and nitrite are very toxic, and are still harmful to fish even at low concentrations like .25 ppm or .5 ppm. Even though you're keeping the levels down, your fish are still probably suffering from their presence at all. Sounds like your tank is only halfway cycled! You still have a little while to go.