# Inconspicuous flow? How and how much?



## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I need more flow in my 125g. I have 2 xp3's for filtration. I think for filtration's sake that's working well. I have a koralia #3 (850gph). Below is a schematic of my current set up. 1st XP3 - inline CO2, 2nd XP3 - inline UV filter and on each is also Rena SmartHeater on the intake side.

Current:









Proposed:








My idea is to get 2 external pumps and take off the UV and the CO2 from the XP3's. Then can I hook all 4 to a bigger pipe and then some huge spraybar that goes across the entire back pointing up maybe so it won't blow plants forward?.... Put 2 each pump intakes on back right and left ends of tank. Would that give me front to back circular water flow? I know they make circulation attachment things for hoses. ANY IDEAS of what to do. I would like more control over CO2 output to crank up or down with flow. A dedicated pump would give me a quicker reaction time with it. Maybe I wouldn't even need the Koralia......


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Come on people. I need some advice here. Does anybody have any ideas?


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Okay, keep in mind I've no experience with Koralia's, but I would put it on one of the sides, towards the front and close to the bottom, with the outflow spraying across the front. That would give you some circulation in the front/bottom. You could put another one opposite it, but toward the back of that opposite side, spraying across the rear of the tank.

OR, have the one situated near the front positioned higher up and spraying downward at an angle across the front of the tank, and the opposite one (situated toward the back) positioned low and spraying upward along the rear of the tank.

Okay, now I'm confused...


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## Logan's Daddy (May 3, 2008)

I don't know if circular flow is as important as turbulent flow in general, My opinion would be to use the xp3's and with their spraybars at opposite ends of the tank and the koralia in the middle, all at the bottom pointing upward - towards the center of the tank.

Here's a sketch up I threw together real quick because I was having trouble trying to describe:









The Two vertical tubes at the top would be xp3 inlets, green represents one filter and red the other, the horizontal ones represent spraybars, on the opposixe side from their inlets for good mixing. The koralia could be placed anywhere flow looked weak, and If you still wanted to use the two additional pumps I think I'd put their outlets in the middle facing toward the front corners.

This should give you good mixing all around, I don't think I'd try to plumb more than one pump into a single spraybar, not sure but IMO just sounds like you could end up with all sorts of unforseen priming / backflow problems.

Hope it helps!


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## freshyleif (Jan 9, 2008)

I have similar issues in my 80g also rectangular. I was thinking of doing what you proposed in my tank. IMO there should be no problems with pressure as long as you don't have to much reduction in tube diameter up to the spray bar( more holes will also reduce pressure). I can get plastic tubing pretty easy so I was thinking that I would make it long like you and then probably drill my own holes and angle the ones near the ends to point toward the front corners. I was also planning on using a canister filter with power head but plumb them together into the spray bar because I thought it would need more pressure. I don't think this will help you at all but maybe. I will post what I do in about three weeks after I am done if you are not already done then maybe we can compare similarities and differences.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Thanks you guys. Ok I've kind of combined what all of you said. (Logan's Daddy love your 3D drawing). I didn't think about the priming issues. That was a smart thing to think about. Even with my current inline CO2 and UV set-up, I have to be careful with the XP3's to get them primed. In this px I will still have the UV and CO2 separate but it will be all across the width of the tank for better coverage. What do you think now? AND what size gph powerhead do I need to run the big 5.5 foot spraybar with the UV and CO2 hooked up to it. My UV is a 25watt so it's quite large. It should be able to handle a large volume. If I need to keep the volume of water lower through it I can leave it on one of my XP3's. My main concern it really good CO2 and nutrient circulation - NO DEAD SPOTS!


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

If you simply lined the spray bars along the back top of the tank then you should set up a circular motion taking CO2 and nutrients to the small plants at the front first and then backwards towards the taller stem plants at the back. That should do the job nicely IME. If you then want some extra turbulence then the Koralia could also be situated to push the water from one end to the other too(but I agree that I don't think you'll need that).


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Crossing the inflow/outflow of the 2 external filters is a bright idea. The spray bar in the back will definitely help a lot. But because of the size of the tank there will be dead spots anyway. Especially if the tank is full of plants.

If, and only if, there are issues in the dead spots you can add small power heads here and there. Not very elegant, I know, but sometimes you have to do it. The plants really block the flow in a very efficient way. 

--Nikolay


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

LAST ???? *How big a power head should I get for the back spraybar? * My XP3s are rated at 350gph each. BUT we all know that as they collect debris that is cut down. I was thinking maybe I want 1200 to 1500gph since the spray bar is almost 6' long. That amount spread over six feet may not be as disruptive as it sounds. The Koralia I was using was 850gph and while it is powerful I believe spread across 6' it would be quite tamed.

Thank you for all your help. I'm getting ready for my new lights and I want to make sure I have what I need to cope with the soon-to-be driving force of my plant growth!


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Since you already have a Koralia powerhead, why not try it on the spray bar and see how it works? If it isn't enough flow, try adding a second one to the other end of the spray bar. I have done this on a 125 Tanganyikan tank but used two Fluval 304s connected to a single spray bar. The output of each Fluval was connected to each end of the spray bar and pointed down the front glass. Not only did this push all the debris to the rear of the tank where it was out of sight and easily removed during weekly water changes but it kept algae off of the front glass. Also, by mounting the spray bar on the front of the tank, it is out of sight...one less piece of hardware to see in the tank.


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## armyoffoo (Dec 28, 2007)

The Koralia pumps aren't like normal powerheads, they are open bodied pumps drawing water through the back and pumping out the front. No input/output pipes to attach to.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

MatPat said:


> Since you already have a Koralia powerhead, why not try it on the spray bar and see how it works? If it isn't enough flow, try adding a second one to the other end of the spray bar. I have done this on a 125 Tanganyikan tank but used two Fluval 304s connected to a single spray bar. The output of each Fluval was connected to each end of the spray bar and pointed down the front glass. Not only did this push all the debris to the rear of the tank where it was out of sight and easily removed during weekly water changes but it kept algae off of the front glass. Also, by mounting the spray bar on the front of the tank, it is out of sight...one less piece of hardware to see in the tank.


As armyoffoo said I won't be able to use the Koralia out I did pick up a powerhead today that pumps 600gph. It's pretty large. I think it will work.

What do you mean by mounting the spray bar on the front of the tank? How is it not seen? How do you run your tubing to it?I do believe by having the spray bar pointed up it will be pulling from the bottom water column and will pull debris, etc toward the back. At least that should be the logical flow. I think I'm missing something it what you're trying to tell me.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Tex Gal said:


> As armyoffoo said I won't be able to use the Koralia out I did pick up a powerhead today that pumps 600gph. It's pretty large. I think it will work.
> 
> What do you mean by mounting the spray bar on the front of the tank? How is it not seen? How do you run your tubing to it?I do believe by having the spray bar pointed up it will be pulling from the bottom water column and will pull debris, etc toward the back.  At least that should be the logical flow. I think I'm missing something it what you're trying to tell me.


Yeah, I realized my mistake on the Koralia after I posted ](*,)

I used a Fluval spray bar mounted at the top of the tank pointing down to the substrate. The top trim on a 125g is tall enough that the spray bar is hidden by the trim. I used standard Fluval non-drilled plastic tubing and Fluval elbows to get the water from the the back of the tank (where the output of the Fluvals is located) to the front.

The video in this thread does a much better job of explaining than I can do here  The video is in Cich of it all's thread about 2/3rd of the way down the thread. Make sure to watch both videos...they should answer your questions, if not I will try to help


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