Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: Geoffish on February 19, 2018, 10:08:04 PM
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Hi all
I've got my first tank all set up and cycled (details further down). I've been wondering lately whether I need a wave maker or not and, if so, where to locate it. First fish went in at the weekend (cardinal tetras and five banded barbs), more variety to follow over the next few months. The plan is to get it reasonably well planted, but not too crazy. I've got some brown algae, but nothing alarming. Hopefully that will be cleaned up once I get some otos and shrimp in there (planning to get them next week).
Having read various websites, etc I wonder whether the water circulation is good enough, particularly for the plants. My thought was to get a wave maker and put it towards the bottom in the corner (opposite end to the filter). Then it occurred to me whether I should get two small ones in either corner to avoid dead spots but without having too high flow rate in one place. Finally, wave makers generally seem to be put near the surface (as far as I've seen), is there any issue putting them further down? (or maybe they have a different name?!?). I want to improve circulation rather than disrupting the surface too much.
Specs
Tank: Juwel vision 260
Substrate: Aquagrowth soil
Filter: External Oase Biomaster Thermo 350
Decorations: A few rocks and a mid-sized bogwood log
Plants: Java fern, echinodorus, eleocharis acicularis, lizard tails, staurogyne repens
Planning to get a few anubias, but at the mo I've left the bogwood out (soaking) until the algae has gone. So will sort this out in the next few weeks.
Thanks!
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I use a circulation pump (Tunze model) to provide extra circulation in my 270 litre tank. I use mine to disperse the CO2 from the diffuser evenly around the tank, which is heavily planted. The tank is cuboid in shape and so I only need one unit to supplement the flow from my external filters. The model I have pushes round about 1800 litres per hour.
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I wouldn't say you needed more circulation from your tank/equipment details...I have a 220 litre with a filter rated for a 300 litre tank and don't have extra circulation. Your set up is similar.
I would imagine that if a wavemaker was to be placed near a sand substrate the sand would get drawn into the unit. Other than that I don't think there is much issue with it being down low.
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Wave makers tend to be used for marine tanks rather than fresh water. For extra circulation in fresh water it's usually a power head which is a bit like the pump of an internal filter without any media containers.
However, you need to consider the needs of your current and future fish. Those from slow moving rivers and lakes will not appreciate a lot of water movement. Both cardinal tetras and five band barbs are from slow moving water. Look at the 'habitat' sections here
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/paracheirodon-axelrodi/
http://seriouslyfish.com/species/desmopuntius-pentazona/
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If you intend to get a "power head" as Sue describes, then I would look at the following https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hydor-Koralia-Nano-Circulation-Wave/dp/B003VV3ICW/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1519121073&sr=8-7&keywords=hydor I have this in my 110ltr tank and it creates movement through the tank which is noticeable through the "swaying" plants.
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Thanks for the advice everyone!
@Sue, good point about the habitat. It looks like all my fish (not just current, but planned) prefer minimal movement so it may well be the best approach to do without.
@Baz, that's the same one I was looking at. Do you keep it at the surface of your tank or lower down?
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I have placed it at the rear right hand corner low enough below the water line so as not to "drag" air in to the pump and not to create a "vortex". I also angle it downwards and a little to the front of the tank to help disperse the Co2. I have Harlequins, Cardinal Tetras, and Rosy Tetras they all seem to fine, in fact the Harlequins tend to want to swim in the flow from the pump.
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Sounds good. I'm leaning towards doing the same, good to hear that your fish are happy with your set-up. I might just put one in and switch it on periodically for an hour or so rather than leave it on all day.
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Ok, so I bought one (same one Baz suggested). I put it fairly near the surface and it's done a decent job of clearing the brown algae out of my grass (the only place the algae collects more than I'd like). The fish all seem fine with it, they swim around in the flow as if it's no big deal. I keep it switched on just for a couple of hours. Gut feel is that that's enough to circulate the tank. There doesn't seem to be any need to leave it on longer than that.
Thanks for the advice all.
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Interesting to hear it seems to have cleared the algae... starting to wonder if my tank could benefit from one now... Did the algae seem to die off over a few days?
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Sorry, probably should have been clearer on that. The water movement just helps to dislodge it. I then sieved it out some from near the surface with a net, and more with the siphon when doing a WC. Plus the (external filter) seemed to catch more than before.
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I was on a mission to increase the flow around my tank too... Finished up with an All Pond Solutions surface skimmer, which was cheap as proverbial chips and does a super job of quickly clearing that oily looking surface film you can get after feeding the crew... :) Adds to the flow nicely, in a gentle way, although I don't leave it on all of the time...