Water Movement

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Hello friends,

I was wondering at what point is there too much water movement in a discus/planted tank?

My tank is a 95 gallon wave with an AquaClear 110 on one end and my Fluval 405 on the other. Both are running better now since I rebuilt them but for some reason I feel there may not be enough water movement because the algae is building again on the driftwood and on parts of the glass.

With 70% water changes once per week and lowering the time on the lights I figured it would have been better on the algae. I read a few threads on water movement courtesy of Google but most don't specify the fish that are in the tanks. Knowing discus prefer calmer waters, I figure adding a powerhead or two might help but I don't want to startle the discus.

Thanks,

[TURQ64]

As for water movement, as long as there's an escape pocket somewhere, Discus seem fine with moderate current IMO..I have two tanks in particular with over a thousand gph, and the fish aren't phased..That said, in a thousand gallons (roughly) of tank water in my house, I only have algae in the tank with shrimp, and I plan that..I'd be more curious about eliminating the source of the algae...Nutrients and maybe too little WC's..again, JMO..Gary

[Stag]

I have two Magnum 350s on my 55 gallon. They are both running micron polishers so that tends to slow down the GPH but that still is alot of water movement.

I have the inlets/outlets for each unit together. They are hanging over the back glass about 6inches from each side with the outlets pointed towards the side glass. This allows for a lot of follow within my tank without all the water being disturbed.

Be mindful it does promote uneven pressures in the tank and bad water turn over entropy.

[Larry Bugg]

How much light and how long are they on? I agree with Gary. While flow can create a issue with algae it is more likey that you have a inbalance with Light, Co2 and Nutrients. There is a delicate balance with these three that has to be established in a planted tank to keep it algae free.