Tank Filteration

[-Chewy-]

Hi all,

How many times of your tank should your filteration filter in one hour to be a sufficient filteration?

-Chewy-

 

[tstenback]

i shoot for at least 4 times per hour, i find with that level of flow i have no problems keeping the water quality high. HTH

 

[-Chewy-]

So does it means that if I have a 200liters fish tank, then all I have to do is get a filter that filters 800liters per hour Is that it???

 

[Navarre]

As you have posted the same question in the Marine forum the question poses itself, is this for a freshwater or marine aquarium. BOth are very different.
Cant answer for freshwater but as for marine, well my answer has been posted there. Minimum turnover per hour is 10x ltr capacity. (This is necessay for most reef aquariums regardless of filtration.)

 

[Bol]

The answer also depends on other factors.

Such as, is the filter a Hang On Back filter, or a canister? (canisters filter more efficiently, so you don't need so much flow)

Does the tank have any live plants? If so, how many? (moderately to heavily planted tanks can usually 'get away' with less filtration flow)

What kind of fish does the tank have? (some fish produce significantly more waste and mess than others)

For info, almost all manufacturers of Hang On Back-type filters recommend a 5x flow rate. Many hobbyists like to see that number closer to 10x.

 

[Navarre]

I cannot speak for freshwater of course but in a reef tank (not necessarily a marine fish tank) 5x is not enough (especially for sps/short polyp stoney).
The reason for this is due to how a reef works. Circulation s probably the only part of the hobby that we simply cannot copy in a home reef tank. Reefs naturally have HUGE surges that fishes and more importantly corals thrive upon, in fact rely upon. sps secrete a mucus that helps shield them from UV light among other things. If the flow is too strong (i.e. a powerhead pointed directly at a coral ) then it will be stripped of its protection and be harmed by UV light. If the flow is to low then the coral has no way of controlling this and could end up smothering itself (or even burning itself as the mucus is quite potent).
A minimum of 10x capacity is required for a healthy tank, in fact i run mine at 20x capacity and am looking into 30x as much. Obviously with this sort of turnover ( 10x) the type of filteration is mute. As most filtration adds to the general turnover of the tank then its merely added to the equation.
The same applies to softies (leather corals etc) They close down to shed their skins, to get rid of this skin, high flows are needed to help it shed. In the wild a couple of waves would rip the entire skin from the coral in seconds. Even with 10x turnover this would take the best part of a day or more to happen.

The one thing that cannot be encouraged more in a reef tank is more turnover.

 

[tstenback]

-Chewy-

are you talking freshwater or saltwater???

 

[-Chewy-]

Actually I was asking about saltwater tank....but however the tank does not have alot of rocks