another question soz :) whats the best positioning for power

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darren
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another question soz :) whats the best positioning for power

Post by darren »

have got my 4 zebs in a 4ft 60 gal tank at mo(hoping to build upto 12 zebs over the next cpl years)the thing is my tank is fairly high and at the moment i have 2 x 6 inch air curtains either side and a large airstone set in middle all running off double outlet air pump i have an aquaone 1200 external filter with spraybar outlet running length of tank so plenty of surface agitation and have maxijet 1200 power head the question is about the power head if i run it with venturi its has to be very high up the tank to get any bubbles so not really getting alot of flow on bottom of tank,,but if i put it half way down the tank i dont get the bubbles but i do get flow to the bottom so just need to know which am i better off going for low with flow but no bubbles or high with bubbles but no flow to bottom many thanks any help
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jerry58
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Post by jerry58 »

Hi darren

I use one of these in my tank and had the same problem so I did set the whole pump at a angle this allows you to get good flow of water spiraling down and loads of bubbles this should be ok I found that using the directional flow part at the front angled down reduced the flow leave if straight and should be better results. :wink:

hope this helps.

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Post by darren »

hi jerry thanks for answer ,so do you mean u didnt stick the powerhead flush on the glass using suction cups?how did u manage to get it at an angle pointing donwards without settung the front direction nozzle down?lmk thanks darren
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Post by jerry58 »

Hi darren

Sorry use suction cups as in pic rotate on glass downward anticlockwise .:wink:

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Post by darren »

ahh see what u mean :) unfortunatly dont think itll work for my tank as its a pretty deep one and even turning powerhead at an angle with venturi working wont send current deep enough to flow past the caves,might just rely on airstones for arieation and just put powerhead down deep without venturi for flow :)
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venturi

Post by bengranger80 »

I use airpumps on my powerhead venturis with airflow adjusters, then you can put them as deep as you like.
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Post by Zebedee »

could you not put a longer piece of tube on it so that it reaches the top still with the power head at the bottom?
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Post by darren »

nah have tried using longer tubing but for some reason when its deep down it doesnt drag any air in and u only get flow,,think running with air pump might be the way to go will give it a try in cpl of days cheers guys
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Post by jerry58 »

Hi darren

Just to say you might need a inline tap to reduce the air flow doing it with air line and do not forget in this case I would DEFIANTLY use a anti reverse valve to be on the safe side !!!:wink:

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Post by jerry58 »

Hi had this in mind for a long while now might help you I know its a rough drawing but gives you the right idea.

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Post by darren »

cheers gerry looks interesting gonna give it a go next day off work,ordered somemore caves off jo so gonna wait till they are back then have bit of a sort around will let u know how i get off cheers darren
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Post by TwoTankAmin »

Well somebody has to be a contrarian :)

My main zebra breeding tank is a 30 breeder 36x18x13 inches. It runs 3 filter/PH:
1- H.O.T. Magnum (250 gph) plumbed so the intake is at the opposite end of the tank as the outflow. The outflow has been modified so its a spray bar that runds along the top of the side glass. The spray bar is basically submerged so it provides little to no surface aggitation.
2- A Maxi-Jet 900 Power head (230 gph) which blows down the front of the tank and across the mouths of the caves. It does not use venturi.
3- An AquaClear 30 akd 150 (150 gph) power filter. This is the lone source for exchangeing gasses (oxygenating the water)

Here is how the tank basically looks (note several times/year the tank is totally broken down to extract offspring so it is slightly changed each time):

Image

The tank was initially set up and stocked at the end of April 2006. In this tank have been 9-12 adult breeders and fry ranging from as few as 5 and as many as 50+. The filtration has been the same since day one and there have been well in excess of 50 spawns to date.

My point is that while zebras do need well oxygenated water, it is not necessary to get into overkill imo. Air stones and venturis do not add O by putting the bubbles into the water, rather it is the rising of the bubbles which break the surface which permits the exchange of gasses that gets O into the water. I have always preferred power filters to air stones for oxygenating.
Last edited by TwoTankAmin on Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by darren »

had to google contrarian but got the rest :)
makes sense at the moment my powerhead is set up to flow just along the front of caves(not much flow mind)and it does totally miss one cave that is used by one of my males pretty sure the tank is oxegenated enough with the airstones and spray bar for surface agitation so dont know now might just leave venturi off it,really want to get things the best i can so head in a shed at mo :)
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