Water movement for loaches

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ey
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Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2006 9:22 am

Water movement for loaches

Post by ey » Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:57 am

I will be moving my loaches to a 6x2x2 and was looking at getting a power head to create some much needed water movement and was wondering if there are any suggestions as to which power head would do a good job?

I have 18 clown loaches, 12 yoyo loaches and about 15 cardinal tetras and 20 rummynose tetras. I don't want to get too strong of a powerhead that will suck and kill the tetras.

I have narrowed the search down to:

- AquaClear 50 or 70 or 90 ( not sure which size to get)
- Koralia
- Eheim pump

My preference would be the AquaClear but would like to know if any one else have used these with success?

Does an added power head make a big difference for the loaches? I.e. do loaches behave differently with and without water movement?

Thanks

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Dutch
Posts: 455
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Location: Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Post by Dutch » Sun Nov 09, 2008 7:26 am

I have the Aquaclear 70 powerhead installed in my custom internal filter and have been very happy with the result. My tank is 125cm(~4ft) x 60(~2ft) x 50(~1.5ft, waterheight) and the powerhead gives a great flow in which my B. kubotai enjoy playing, even my Danio's seem to enjoy picking a spot that has a nice flow.

If you haven't read it already, I enjoyed reading this...
http://www.loaches.com/articles/water-m ... h-aquarium
Regards,
Erik

ey
Posts: 231
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2006 9:22 am

Post by ey » Sun Nov 09, 2008 9:23 am

Dutch wrote:I have the Aquaclear 70 powerhead installed in my custom internal filter and have been very happy with the result. My tank is 125cm(~4ft) x 60(~2ft) x 50(~1.5ft, waterheight) and the powerhead gives a great flow in which my B. kubotai enjoy playing, even my Danio's seem to enjoy picking a spot that has a nice flow.

If you haven't read it already, I enjoyed reading this...
http://www.loaches.com/articles/water-m ... h-aquarium
Thanks Dutch. Do you have any small fish that have trouble keeping up with the fast moving currents?

Thanks for the link, I was reading the article when you replied!

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Dutch
Posts: 455
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2007 12:59 pm
Location: Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Post by Dutch » Mon Nov 10, 2008 4:22 am

The smallest fish I have are Danio's and they seem perfectly happy to swim in the currents.

I was just thinking, I'm using the powerhead in a filter and so it has to be a powerhead, but if you're just after watermovement a powerhead might not be the best choice. Powerheads have the strength to lift water, which requires a lot of force like the torque in your car. Watermovement doesn't require that type of force. So if you don't plan on lifting the water you might consider trying to find a pump which is specifically targetted for water movement.

The Koralia 1 is such a pump, it's cheaper than an aquaclear 70 and uses a lot less power at only 4.5 Watt. It moves the same amount of water, but with less force. Tunze has similar pumps that (as I understand) are better built, but they are much more expensive. Those are variable though, which might be a nice option to look at. (Like the Turbelle, nanostream 6055 that has a capacity of 1,000 to 5,500 l/h (264 to 1,453 USgal./h) and which is listed at 227.28 USD on their site... http://www.tunze.com/ )

It's something to consider depending on what type of flow you want in your tank and if it's worth the extra running costs.
Regards,
Erik

ey
Posts: 231
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2006 9:22 am

Post by ey » Mon Nov 10, 2008 7:18 am

Dutch wrote:The smallest fish I have are Danio's and they seem perfectly happy to swim in the currents.

I was just thinking, I'm using the powerhead in a filter and so it has to be a powerhead, but if you're just after watermovement a powerhead might not be the best choice. Powerheads have the strength to lift water, which requires a lot of force like the torque in your car. Watermovement doesn't require that type of force. So if you don't plan on lifting the water you might consider trying to find a pump which is specifically targetted for water movement.

The Koralia 1 is such a pump, it's cheaper than an aquaclear 70 and uses a lot less power at only 4.5 Watt. It moves the same amount of water, but with less force. Tunze has similar pumps that (as I understand) are better built, but they are much more expensive. Those are variable though, which might be a nice option to look at. (Like the Turbelle, nanostream 6055 that has a capacity of 1,000 to 5,500 l/h (264 to 1,453 USgal./h) and which is listed at 227.28 USD on their site... http://www.tunze.com/ )

It's something to consider depending on what type of flow you want in your tank and if it's worth the extra running costs.
Dutch, why do aquarists use powerheads to lift water? I thought the purpose of powerheads were to create water movement?

I don’t need an additional filter, which is what the AquaClear powerhead can also function as, so I checked out the Koralia. It actually works out to be more expensive here in Oz.

An AC70 is $60 AUD whereas the Koralia 1 is $100 AUD. There is the issue of power consumption though as 4.5W (Koralia) vs 21W (AquaClear) is a big difference in the long run. Would you say the Koralia is also safer for the loaches compared to the AC70?

I've looked at Tunze as well but they are above my price range/bugdet.

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Dutch
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Location: Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Post by Dutch » Mon Nov 10, 2008 11:25 am

When people use a biological filtration system it's usually located under the tank and thus requires a pump that can lift the water up into the tank above. (The same principle applies to canister filters.)
The pump in my internal filter also needs to lift the water. The pump is located at the bottom of the tank, but the outlet is just under the waterline.

The safety I don't really know. The main difference I see between the Koralia and the AC70 is the type of flow it creates. The AC70 creates a powerful but narrow stream, the Koralia creates a less powerful but broader stream. This is simply because the AC70 forces the water through a much smaller outlet than the Koralia. I think the same applies for the intake, but I also think both can be changed on the AC70. Adding a spraybar on the outlet and quick-filter in the intake will create a broader flow in and out of the pump.
In my experience though, both my loaches and my Danio's have had their noses inside the outlet to the point where I put some protection in front of it to prevent them entering the outlet tube (even though the fish were too big, I didn't take any chances). So even the direct flow of the AC70 doesn't seem to be a problem for either.

I think the AC70 could be a good choice.
(And if you're on a budget looking for an air pump. Because the AC70 has a narrow outlet I simply pushed a small piece or air-hose in front of it with the other side of the hose outside my tank. The waterflow now automatically draws in air. Much more silent than an air pump and doesn't cost extra. You can even put a valve on it to regulate the airflow and noise!)
Regards,
Erik

Diana
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Post by Diana » Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:44 am

If you are looking at the Aquaclear products, go with the largest for this large a tank.
Include the sponge filter set up, these power heads can indeed inhale the little fish very easily.

I make a DIY manifold for these and filter intakes and it means I can go longer before they plug up with debris, and the extra sponges are acting as mechanical and bio-filters. The manifold intake also reduces the strength of the flow at any one sponge, and the fish do not get stuck.
If I use just one sponge over the intake of the largest Aquaclear it can get plugged up with just one planing session in the tank. WIth a manifold that holds 2 or 3 of the same size sponges I can easily go longer than a week between cleanings.
These are moving as much water as a good sized canister. They are moving the debris that comes with that much water, too. The sponges over their openings need to be cleaned pretty frequently because they are so good at moving water.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.

Happy fish keeping!

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