How Important Is Flow Rate?

[jarthel]

I was thinking of getting either the 2213 or the 2215. The 2213 is just enough for 250L tank. but it only has a flow rate of 440L/H. 2215 is around 600+L/H.

So how important is the flow rate compared to the other parameters in a filter (capacity and etc).

thank you

 

[Truck]

It depends on the application, If its going to be a planted tank then a 10x flow rate is recommended, because nutrients and CO2 (if injected), wont reach all areas of the tank with low flow, this will then lead to deficient plants and a considerable amount of algae.

if its just a standard community set up then you'll be wanting about 5x flow.

So it its a planted tank I would be looking at 2 filters that kick out 1200lph each, so 2 tetratect ex1200's would work well.

If its just a standard community tank, one of these will be sufficient.

 

[KittyKat]

I have 1000 lph on my 200 litre tanks, and that is barely enough to keep everything moving. I have to be especially careful about positioning the inlets and outlets so that water gets to all areas of the tank and there are no stale spots. Above is correct for freshwater, for marine one would need even more at 20x turnover and powerheads to keep the water moving between the rocks and to prevent dead spots; I find that a high-in-rock freshwater set-ups (Rift Lake) benefit from higher turnovers too.

 

[jarthel]

thanks everyone. very helpful