Is this too much flow for my fish?

[Morainy]

I have an Aquaclear 70 and a Fluval 205 running on my 36 gallon bowfront. The Aquaclear is set to the highest flow because it's noisy otherwise.

I've had this filtration on this tank for quite awhile, but now that I've rescaped and changed the inhabitants, I wonder if the new fish are being blown around by the flow.

My main concern are the 6 smallish julii corydoras on the bottom of the tank. Every time they come up off the ground to move to a new location, it seems like they are swept sideways by the current. They seem fine while they are swimming or sitting, but when they just want to move a little bit over, they seem to be carried away. Don't corydoras like quieter waters?

Their tankmates are juvenile red phantom tetras. They're really quite small compared to a full-grown tetra, but they are growing quickly. They seem to handle the current fine but they have to swim quite hard to stay in their shoal or in place. Again, I'm not sure that phantom tetras like a strong current.

The bowfront has a central divider on the top, so the Aquaclear is positioned on the left side, with the Fluval's intake, and the Fluval's outlet is on the right side. That means there's water rushing into the tank on both sides. Should I move the Aquaclear so that its outlet (and intake) are next to the Fluval's outlet? Should I only run the Aquaclear?

Will my fish become stressed and exhausted? Should I switch them for fast water fish?

This combination does a very good job of keeping the tank clean, though!

Thanks!

[jbyoung00008]

I run the same set up as you on my 25g tall tank plus I run a powerhead. I have 10 various corys and they do fine. So I dont think that is too much water movement. Do you have anything in the tank that would help break it down a little. ex. drift wood or large rocks? As long as the fish have some slow areas to move into they should be fine. Try out some different positions with the out take hose. Maybe run it closer to the top. Water movement is good. Helps keep the water clean and most fish come from rivers and streams so they are fine with decent water movement. If you are finding the aquaclear to be noisy either the impeller needs to be cleaned or replaced. I have also found that they get an air bubble at the top of the intake tube that will cause noise aswell. Sometimes I will drop something in the tank that semi floats so I can see exactly how the water is moving and where the dead zones are.

[Morainy]

Thank you, ybyoung00008. It's reassuring to know that you have corydoras in a similar setup. Yes, I have a large rock, some wood, and quite a few plants to break things up a bit at the bottom.

Your information about the Aquaclear is useful. This one is nearly brand new but all but one of my Aquaclears are noisy. Typically, for me they start off noisy but get quieter as they age. I have a spare impeller but I've tried that and it doesn't help. I don't know if it's just bad luck (I have noisy filter-itis, like Atom does, and we're both prone to picking out the rattliest one in the bunch) or if it's something that I'm doing. I do clean the impellers regularly. One thing I like about Aquaclears is that the impellers are easy to clean and the units reassemble so easily. I will check out that excellent tip about the air bubble because this filter definitely does keep an air bubble at the top if the intake tube. I haven't been able to get rid of it. Even though it's blowing the fish around in the tank, in some ways this particular unit seems a little more gutless than my other Aquaclears, and although new a couple of times it's simply stopped moving water. Not sure why. That's why it's good to have the Fluval 205 on there. (That, by the way, is thanks to CRS_Fan, who introduced me to canister filters and provided me with this one.)

[jbyoung00008]

Sometimes I will wiggle the intake tube around or try to tilt the whole unit backwards to get the air bubble out. All of my aquaclears get that bubble and I have noticed it always creates a sound. Dont give up on the aquaclear they are great filters. Little work horses. Hopefully the air bubble is the issue.

[neven]

I keep a shoal of black phantoms and red phantoms, they do fine in a decent current. At nnight they move into the plants, but in the daytime they are active and displaying spawning behavior

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[Morainy]

Thanks, Neven. That's very reassuring.

[enzotesta]

you mentioned that your aquaclear was noisy?...They can be easily repaired...goto your lfs and buy a new pin and propeller....most likely the pin is worn out.