Ok, heres the story. I bought a new 100 gal tank 4 months ago. It has a built in rear trickle filter, three chambers set up with a wier, trickle chamber and pump chamber with a return hole 2" up from the bottom of the tank. In the return chamber was a 2500lph pump that was a little noisy to be honest. I was returning the outlet from a 1500lph external back in to the top of the trickle filter through 3" of fine filter to help take out very fine particles. It was stocked with a 9" oscar, 2 x 5" oscors, 2 x 9" tinfoil barbs and an 8" pengassi cat.
Because of the noise, I decided to put a small power head in the return chamber and do away with the larger pump. All was nice and quiet. However, I came down to a dead tinfoil barb and all my other fish mouthing at the surface, very upsetting. A quick water change and putting back the noisy pump and all was well again. I ordered a slighly less powerful pump of 1250lph, swapped over and this was fine and much quieter. I added a tiny internal of 200lph just below the surface to add a litte ripplng across the surface. Anyway, the large fish have gone now, a mixed community has taken there place. Sand substrate, moderately planted, current stocking is around 37 fish totalling 60" altogether. I am unsure about the needs of plants in terms of current, and am considering returning the external via a spray bar instead of into the trickle filter. I want to avoid another episode of my filter going anoerobic and starving my fish of oxygen again. Do I move the outlet of the external? Will it be of any benefit to my plants to add a spray bar pointing downwards to improve circulation in the tank, or should I leave well alone??
Because of the noise, I decided to put a small power head in the return chamber and do away with the larger pump. All was nice and quiet. However, I came down to a dead tinfoil barb and all my other fish mouthing at the surface, very upsetting. A quick water change and putting back the noisy pump and all was well again. I ordered a slighly less powerful pump of 1250lph, swapped over and this was fine and much quieter. I added a tiny internal of 200lph just below the surface to add a litte ripplng across the surface. Anyway, the large fish have gone now, a mixed community has taken there place. Sand substrate, moderately planted, current stocking is around 37 fish totalling 60" altogether. I am unsure about the needs of plants in terms of current, and am considering returning the external via a spray bar instead of into the trickle filter. I want to avoid another episode of my filter going anoerobic and starving my fish of oxygen again. Do I move the outlet of the external? Will it be of any benefit to my plants to add a spray bar pointing downwards to improve circulation in the tank, or should I leave well alone??
