QUOTE from Gerryd;
"and an additional Rio 800 pump that provides a substrate level current."


The Rio 800 pump sounds like a great idea.

Did you just place it on the substrate at the back of the tank?

Regards,

PMD

Actually stuck it on the side glass towards the front up about 4 inches off the bottom and hid it behind some Lobelias.

I then used a couple of spare parts to make it like a periscope for the outlet so is not as visible and kind of peeks around the leaves. I can still see it, but bet in a couple of weeks, will be invisible.

Goes right across the front of the tank about 1-2" above the substrate and blows across my Riccia..........

Comes on with the c02 timer

I think I may do another smaller one (or two) as I have some areas of thick Ludwigia growth and a lot of driftwood that impedes flow.

I think the extra RIO helps a lot. I can see it causing some wave type action in conjunction with the rest of the flow.

I see that I have about 3-5 spare rios of various sizes laying around, so will see how many I can incorporate.

Only bad thing is that each pump has a power cord.

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the compliment. As I said, an effective alternative to all those extra pumps is to simply use multiple large filters and to plumb their outputs to long lengths of spraybars. Each of my two filters are rated at 1700 LPH but when mounted and filled with media only deliver about 800LPH. If I had to do it again I would use two FX5's which are rated at 3000LPH I believe, or use the Ocean Clear with external pumps.

The thing that most don't realize is that bigger filters with stronger pumps also give you better biological filtration under these high lights. This is a massive advantage in algae control. Pumps by themselves, while they do improve circulation can't add better filtration.

Remember that you are not limited to using only a single spraybar. I now have 5 feet of Fluval spraybars joined by rubber unions mounted across the top of the back glass. The Fluvals spraybars are smoky gray so are more discreet, not like the ugly green of the Eheims. In fact any non-toxic plastic tubes with holes drilled in them can work so we're not limited to "aquarium" plastic tubes.

This method does require external reactors though so if you are a DIYer and you want to save money you can fabricate and mount a couple of Tom's venturi reactors on the output of each filter.

I haven't tried them all of course, but so far there are few plants beyond my reach using this method in this tank - and there are no ugly pumps to hide...which is NICE...



Cheers,

Fluval spray bars/tubing sound very effective.

PVC pipe could work too, but I hate white tubing. Know of any safe paint to apply to the pipe?

Placement possibilities include placing the tubing an inch or two from the bottom - extended along the entire back of the tank - facing forward. Then add just enough flow so that a gentle current extends to the front of the tank

Maybe use an Eheim 1262 pump for distribution - it's rated at 900 gallons per hour. Too strong?

I could regulate the flow strength by adjusting the diameter of the holes.

Any recommendations on rubber suction cups. The Eheim seem to lose their grip in only a few months.

Regards,

PMD

Hi,
I'm not sure about the paint but I am fairly certain yo can find black or at least gray pipes. I've not tried having the pipes down near the bottom but I noted in Tom's 180 project his outlets from his closed loop system exits down low so as long as the CO2 mixture is exiting from the pipes it should be OK. The 900GPH figure sounds about right to me. Remember that you need the CO2 enriched flow to reach the front so it has to be more than just a gentle flow. In my configuration the flow is from top down so I can also tweak the effluent to ripple the surface as needed.

I don't really have difficulties with the rubber cups and Brand X cups are cheap enough that they are easy to replace. The Fluval cups are a bit more flexible so they don't harden as quickly. Might just be luck in my case though.

Cheers,

The HC I have in the 180 has a lot of current.
I can switch between PC and MH or both.

The plant does best at higher intensity, but high rates of growth may not be be what you really want later.......careful what you wish for......

I have a nice ultra fine mist traveling most of the mat's length from a venturi mazzei valve.

Most nice HC displays are open designs, not dense dutch stem plants which zap the CO2 and light.

ADA does this.
With increased current, you can get away with more however.



Regards,
Tom Barr