Not sure what to do---advice please

wait wait wait.....this is a live plant aquarium?.....why are you looking for more flow?......

 

Several people told me that the the plants should be very, very gently swaying and mine weren't moving at all. I agree that with a lot of surface agitation I will lose too much carbon dioxide (which is a very good point) so I did get a nano ph but placed it so it's giving the plants a tad bit more flow but not creating turbulence at the top.

I hope this was the correct thing to do.

 

Yeh, thats kinda my point too. too much surface agitation is not a good thing in a plant system, unless you plan on dosing co2 manually, and at elevated levels.

As far as plant movement, it all depends on your plants really. Lets say if you have things like vals, decent flow will just blow it around. Same goes for hornwort, anachris, and the like. So it really depends on what you got. We generally, whenever we set-up plant systems, we like to provide low-med flow, somewhere in the x3-x5 range.

Did whomever told you to increase your flow explain why to do it?

 

Thank you for responding. Yes, as a way to discourage algae growth. The plants do seem happier with a little more flow and I am dosing carbon.

 

You can go to 10X with the wider flow provided by Koralias and the like. If you are dosing carbon then surface agitation is not as much of a problem. If you are doing DIY CO2 then it is. With pressurized CO2 usage it is good to have surface agitation for a better O2 to CO2 balance.

You will spend around $250 to $500 for a good pressurized CO2 system.

 

Yes, I am just dosing Flourish Excel. I can't afford a good pressurized CO2 system and even if I could I would probably somehow blow up my house. ;D

 

Yes, I am just dosing Flourish Excel. I can't afford a good pressurized CO2 system and even if I could I would probably somehow blow up my house. ;D


If I can't figure out how to properly upload a picture on this site can you imagine me trying to set up a pressurized CO2 system.