What are the pros of adding extra current?

[clint]

I'm considering a koralia 750 for my 90g just to stir up the bottom of the tank for better, more through removal of the detritus via my 2 marineland 350 cans.

Plus it has the added benefit the loaches would like, more water movement. Right now the tank is turned over 7.7 times per hour by my cans. But the way i have my tank setup with stacked stone and a huge piece of drift wood, its is by no means vacuum friendly. So i'm getting this idea of adding a koralia 750 or power head probably the kora as its postionableness (if thats a word) ball and joint connection is a big pro over a power head.

Whats anyones thoughts or experience with adding extra water movement with the dual purpose of clearing up some of the detritus and giving all my loaches some extra current to play in. Is a 750gph a pretty good flow for a 4' tank?

[jlorenzo]

I would think it would depend on the loaches. I know most of them like more oxygen in the water then normal. I have a tank with Gold Dojos and Hillstreams with very strong current and they both love it. I would say that it would be good to make hiding spots so they can rest out of the current. rocks or drift wood kina thing.

[clint]

I have all the necessities such as that in place which makes the vacuuming such a pain if not impossible. I'll put some pics up, i have zebras, yoyos, clowns and kuhlis along with rainbows. The plan is to put it lower in the water column to kick up the debris and give my loaches some current to swim against. Its a 4' 90g and i'm looking at a 1050,or 750, i found a good price on a 1050 koralia.

[Diana]

My fish (Loaches and others) will line up in front of the power head when I clean it, enjoying the extra flow.
Some fish are not really happy being right up front, but will still find a place with some added water movement. Discus and Angels hang back from the strongest flow.

[cider]

hi Clint,
I can't comment on adding water current, the experts can do that, but I gotta say your tank design is pretty great. I love your choice of driftwood, choice of plants ...and what loach wouldn't love all those hidey holes .... nice job,
Georgine

[clint]

Thanks on the compliments and replies, this is just what the loaches and rainbows won't eat:lol:. The driftwood was field harvested out of the wisconsin river. Through the petstore it would have costed alot, Even the stone was recycled from a flooring project.

I went ahead and ordered a koralia 1050. With that amount of current i figure the loaches will be in heaven and it should kick up the debris i have accumulating on the bottom of the tank. I've got this same thread on a few forums and everyone seems to think its a good idea, given the setup and my circumstances. I'll let everyone know how this works out or not, i am optimistic and think it'll be a good thing for my tank.

[IlOutfitter]

My pangio oblonga's spend about an hour or so a night directly in the current of my marineland 660 PH and when I had a UGF and had the 660's on reverse, id see them inside the UGF tubes swimming their butt's off.

They are designed for fast current creeks and naturally are found directly in the current at all times be it swimming or down in the rocks and sand waiting for lunch.

[clint]

For those who kindly reply how nice my tank is setup I only did my research and thought this would be good for the 2 species i keep which is loaches and rainbows, plus my redline torpedo barbs they fit right in. I increased my surface are a with the stone work put in the driftwood purely for looks, even though the fish do use it for hiding under and around.

Outfitter, i hope my loaches use the extra current to their advantage, i'm sure they will. I am pretty excited to see how all my loaches interact with the extra 1050gph current the koralia will give them. But i mostly want to stir up the bottom and remove some of the excess detritus. Having a tank so exotic/unusual as that means substrate maintenance is near impossible. I'm really hoping that the extra water movement is enough to get the debris up in the water column for extraction via my 2 marineland cans.