Filter inlet/outlet placement

[illumnae]

I'll be using 2 filters for my next setup (4x2x2) and am wondering what is the best setup for the filter inlet/outlet setup. so far, i've thought of 3 ways that might be feasible. 2 of the ways involve the use if rainbars and the 3rd way involves the use of lily pipes. I've done a simple diagram to show what i think the flow will be for the 3 methods:



my concern is co2 mixing as well as the avoidance of dead spots. co2 will be supplied via 2 co2 reactors before each outlet so hopefully the water coming out of the outlet will be well mixed and enriched with co2. my concern about the horizontal spraybar and the lily pipes is that the big space in the middle of the side view under the spraybar/lilypipe will end up being a dead spot; also, for the lily pipe and, the middle of the top view between the inlet and the outlet will end up being a dead spot.

anyone have any recommendations?

[hc rotala]

I using 2 pumps over 1 canister module. Here the flow layout. CO2 diffuser is place at the 1st output.

[o2bubble]

bro, seriously, no matter how you place your input and output, rest assure 90% of your tank will be covered already bearing in mind you are using 2x2028 filters for a 4ft tank. If it's 5ft or above, then maybe the worry is justifiable. There are alot of bros using just 1x2028 and working fine with little algae issues. For me, I would prefer the layout 1 above. Another concern for you might be how to conceal the pipes.

[illumnae]

i'm worried about reduction in flow caused by the CO2 reactors. i've used a single 2028 on my 422 and found it woefully inadequate, and my current Fluval FX5 rated at 2300li/hour after media is just nice, while 2x 2028s is rated at 2100li/hour after media, hence my worry further, even with sufficient rated flow, bad positioning might result in dead spots, which is what's happening with my Fluval FX5 now...flow rate is good, but the column directly under the outlet (lily pipe style) is suffering from some BBA issues due to a dead spot. (i observe the dead spot from the lack of sway of plants as well as the fact that my discus love to breed there and the tetras hide there after playing in the flow for awhile.

concealing the pipes won't be too bad i think, as i'll be using installation sets which are dark grey in colour and will (hopefully) blend into the black oyama i'm using. alternatively, if the recommendation is for layout 3, then the lily pipes, being glass, will be naturally concealed

thanks for your input though, greatly appreciated! my preference so far is also for layout 1, but i wanted advice on the other options as well

[EdwinL]

Hi, I have a 422 tank with a BW at the right side of it, leaning towards the back and plants are are fairly evenly spread. The outlet with CO2 is placed in left front, inlet is placed in the middle. I do not have any dead spot with 1 x Ehiem 2228 canister filter. No, major algae problem. ie for your placement above you have to factor in the blockage or diversion of waterflow by BW or tall plants etc. Generally, I feel if you have it planned out 1 good filter 650 to 700l flow rate is good enough.

[illumnae]

any other opinions on layout of filter inlet/outlet?

[uklau]

In my current setup, I'm using a horizontal rainbar positioned at the bottom of the tank. The holes are drilled at about 45 degree from the horizontal axis.

IMHO, this is the simplest & easiest way to achieve good circulation in a tank. Aesthetically, this is not as nice as the vertical rainbar (would like to experiment some day) & take up more space at the back of your tank.

Depending on the CO2 reactor you are going to put in, I feel that the water flow should not go below 2000l/h (with CO2 reactor inline & connected to a rainbar).

[illumnae]

2000li/s..that's worse than a tornado in my tank ben!

my total flowrate is 2100li/hour using 2x eheim 2028. why would having a rainbar horizontally at the bottom of the tank be better than horizontally at the top though? i thought horizontally at the top would be better as the inlet is at the bottom and thus you are ensuring flow from top to bottom. no matter how strong the "push" from the rainbar is, the water will still have a "pull" from the bottom. if the rainbar is at the bottom, the "push" might be countered by the "pull" from the inlet and the water may only travel halfway up before being pulled down, resulting in good flow at the bottom half of the tank and stagnant water at the top? just a postulation here i'm really not sure.

i was thinking that perhaps horizontal at the top might be a good idea as besides the circular flow that i drew above there would be diagonal flow from the outer holes of the rainbar to the centre back where the inlet is. so from the front it would look something like this:



that would be a good cycle of water from all 3 perspectives right? feedback is greatly appreciated!

[uklau]

Please don't get me wrongly, bro . I'm in no position to dictate which is better than which. I'm only sharing my view based on what I experienced.

I learnt the hard way dealing with BBA problem (but plants are growing very well) in my 2 footer, running Ecco 2232 (rated 400l/h). Everyone knows that when one is having BBA issue, it's due to CO2 & circulation issue. I'm very sure that my CO2 is good (plants are growing healthily).

Assuming that the flowrate is reduced by half by the media, having 200l/h is still almost 4x the total volume of water per hour. I added a Eheim compact pump 1000, which is rated at 300l/h. Tornado? . Even the shrimplets are swimming happily (I assumed ) & freely around the tank. After 6-7 months (with no manual removal), all the algae disappeared (Yeah, I have won the battle ), including my beautiful thick lawn of BBA . By the way, my tank is quite densely planted. On top of providing better circulation the other parameter that I changed is the bioload. I reduced the bioload by half.

Now, I'm running 2 x Ecco 2232 in my 2 footer. I replaced the compact pump after it killed a few of my beautiful Sakura shrimplets (about 1 cm in size) .

[illumnae]

i didn't mean to say you were dictating ben just open discussion about the various methods that's all. i didn't understand your placement and that's why i asked and voiced my doubts hoping you could explain

and i was just joking with you for the first statement as you said your flowrate was 2000 litres per second instead of 2000 litres per hour. i know it was a typo so i was just joking

[uklau]

Now, back to my newly set up tank. The size is 42"x18"x24". I'm running Rena XP3 (rated 1350l/h)& Eheim Compact+ 2000 (rated 2000l/h). The canister filter is connected inline to a chiller whereas the pump is connected inline to a FR, DIY CO2 reactor & DIY rainbar.

I regretted that I drilled the holes too big (3mm) on the rainbar causing the pressure to drop (priority given to maximise CO2 mixing - so need to minimise back pressure at the outlet). The plants hardly wave/sway in my tank. Only the moss on the rainbar is waving gently. If it is not that my place is like been hit by tornado, I'll invite you to my place to have a look.

If I'm not mistaken, you are going for a 4x2x2 tank (much bigger than mine). While 2 x Eheim 2028 provide sufficient water exchange in the canister filters, it may not create sufficient circulation within the tank itself, especially if you are planning for a densely planted tank.

Let's hear what other has to say.

[uklau]

2000li/s..that's worse than a tornado in my tank ben!

Apologies, for the silly mistake . I have corrected the post. I was too focus on the existing project in the office, which involve condensed water aircon. Contractors are using l/s instead of l/h

Anyway, circulation within the tank should be given top priority, on top of good CO2 level.

[illumnae]

yup =) as we discussed on the phone earlier, circulation can vary based on placement depending on outlet placement...i'm still stuck between vertical or horizontal rainbar =(

[Panut]

what is a rainbar for? how does it function?

[uklau]

yup =) as we discussed on the phone earlier, circulation can vary based on placement depending on outlet placement...i'm still stuck between vertical or horizontal rainbar =(

Bro, try searching in the forum. I suddently recall that I ever came across a discussion & if I don't remember wrongly, Valice (pardon me if I quoted the wrong person) did discuss on having 2 vertical rainbar, which circulates the water in a tank via 2 big circles created by the placement of the 2 vertical rainbar.

[uklau]

what is a rainbar for? how does it function?

Here is an example. The horizontol pipe where the water come out is call a rainbar. Generally, it is used for even distribution of water flow across the tank.