filter speed and plants question?

[flupke]

Hi,

i have a 15 gallon (60 liter) aquarium that has a Eheim aquaball 2210 filter
in it. Now this filter is good for aquaria up to 42 gal and has an output
of max 145,3 gph (550 lph). You can adjust the speed of the output
regulator by adjusting the diffusor as required. It also allows for oxygen
to be put in the water. Now for my questions

1. Now this might sound like a stupid question but i'm not sure which way
i have to turn the diffusor to produces less current/flow. There isn't
anything
in the booklet of the filter that says what way you have to turn to increase
or decrease the flow speed. Is there an easy way of telling? Anybody that
has such a filter or something similar?

2. Is there a way of knowing what is an acceptable flow for the fish so
that they don't need to fight the flow so much? Currently it seems ok
although my neon's seem to stay next to the filter in the lower part
to avoid the current but they started swimming else where too. This
might be due to the fact that they are newly put in.
See pics at this page:
http://users.pandora.be/benedict.verheyen/aquarium/aquarium.html

3. I used to put plants all over my aquarium but this seemed to hamper
the flow of the water and thus the filter process. (This is from before
i bought my new filter.) To counter this i made an area on the left hand
side of the tank opposite the filter where i put a lot of gravel and placed
2 plants there.
In the rest of the tank i didn't put any plants and the gravel is only
1/2 inch thick. This makes sure that the filter is able to function
properly.
Since i only have 2 plants, i can easily pull them out to vacuum the
thicker gravel part.
But since i have this new more powerfull filter, i wondered if i could
get away with placing a lot more plants in that left "plant" area so the
fish always have a place where the current isn't that strong. This on the
other hand would mean that i cannot clean the gravel there efficiently
anymore. Would it be better to put more plants there?

4. Is there anybody who can identify the plants? I know the pics aren't
great.
http://users.pandora.be/benedict.verheyen/aquarium/2_plants_side.jpg
The right plant grows very fast and is easy to divide. It gets very long
leaves. It might not be suited very well for a small aquarium like mine
since the leaves are sometimes over 27 inch (70 cm)!

Thanks,
Benedict

[Marcus Fox]

"flupke" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> i have a 15 gallon (60 liter) aquarium that has a Eheim aquaball 2210
filter
> in it. Now this filter is good for aquaria up to 42 gal and has an output
> of max 145,3 gph (550 lph). You can adjust the speed of the output
> regulator by adjusting the diffusor as required. It also allows for oxygen
> to be put in the water. Now for my questions
>
> 1. Now this might sound like a stupid question but i'm not sure which way
> i have to turn the diffusor to produces less current/flow. There isn't
> anything
> in the booklet of the filter that says what way you have to turn to
increase
> or decrease the flow speed. Is there an easy way of telling? Anybody that
> has such a filter or something similar?

I have a 2208 in my 15 gallon. If you wish for the air to be added to the
water as the manual says, you need to restrict the flow (turn
anticlockwise), but it makes the water come out faster. But you can get
plenty of aeration by having the filter disturb the water surface. However,
I've found this too noisy to sleep. When your filter gunks up, the flow will
reduce significantly. Sorry I can't help on your other questions

[flupke]

"Marcus Fox" > schreef in
bericht ...
>
> "flupke" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hi,
> >
> > i have a 15 gallon (60 liter) aquarium that has a Eheim aquaball 2210
> filter
> > in it. Now this filter is good for aquaria up to 42 gal and has an
output
> > of max 145,3 gph (550 lph). You can adjust the speed of the output
> > regulator by adjusting the diffusor as required. It also allows for
oxygen
> > to be put in the water. Now for my questions
> >
> > 1. Now this might sound like a stupid question but i'm not sure which
way
> > i have to turn the diffusor to produces less current/flow. There isn't
> > anything
> > in the booklet of the filter that says what way you have to turn to
> increase
> > or decrease the flow speed. Is there an easy way of telling? Anybody
that
> > has such a filter or something similar?
>
> I have a 2208 in my 15 gallon. If you wish for the air to be added to the
> water as the manual says, you need to restrict the flow (turn
> anticlockwise), but it makes the water come out faster. But you can get
> plenty of aeration by having the filter disturb the water surface.
However,
> I've found this too noisy to sleep. When your filter gunks up, the flow
will
> reduce significantly. Sorry I can't help on your other questions

I have it now set somewhere in the middle. To summarize: increase speed
of the flow, turn clockwise, reduce speed, turn anticlockwise?

Thanks

[Marcus Fox]

"flupke" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Marcus Fox" > schreef in
> bericht ...
> >
> > "flupke" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > i have a 15 gallon (60 liter) aquarium that has a Eheim aquaball 2210
> > filter
> > > in it. Now this filter is good for aquaria up to 42 gal and has an
> output
> > > of max 145,3 gph (550 lph). You can adjust the speed of the output
> > > regulator by adjusting the diffusor as required. It also allows for
> oxygen
> > > to be put in the water. Now for my questions
> > >
> > > 1. Now this might sound like a stupid question but i'm not sure which
> way
> > > i have to turn the diffusor to produces less current/flow. There isn't
> > > anything
> > > in the booklet of the filter that says what way you have to turn to
> > increase
> > > or decrease the flow speed. Is there an easy way of telling? Anybody
> that
> > > has such a filter or something similar?
> >
> > I have a 2208 in my 15 gallon. If you wish for the air to be added to
the
> > water as the manual says, you need to restrict the flow (turn
> > anticlockwise), but it makes the water come out faster. But you can get
> > plenty of aeration by having the filter disturb the water surface.
> However,
> > I've found this too noisy to sleep. When your filter gunks up, the flow
> will
> > reduce significantly. Sorry I can't help on your other questions
>
> I have it now set somewhere in the middle. To summarize: increase speed
> of the flow, turn clockwise, reduce speed, turn anticlockwise?
>
> Thanks
>

Nope!. If you restrict the flow by turning anticlockwise, more water has to
go through in the same time (through a smaller space), so it comes out
faster than if it is fully open (clockwise). But it turns round fully
anyway, so if you turn too far, you will achieve the opposite. If you read
the manual and play with it a bit, you'll get is set the way you like it.

Marcus

[NetMax]

"flupke" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> i have a 15 gallon (60 liter) aquarium that has a Eheim aquaball 2210
filter
> in it. Now this filter is good for aquaria up to 42 gal and has an
output
> of max 145,3 gph (550 lph). You can adjust the speed of the output
> regulator by adjusting the diffusor as required. It also allows for
oxygen
> to be put in the water. Now for my questions
>
> 1. Now this might sound like a stupid question but i'm not sure which
way
> i have to turn the diffusor to produces less current/flow. There isn't
> anything
> in the booklet of the filter that says what way you have to turn to
increase
> or decrease the flow speed. Is there an easy way of telling? Anybody
that
> has such a filter or something similar?

I'm not familiar with the filter model, but sticking a small plastic
sandwich bag on the output will give you an idea of which setting is
higher, and if you time it, you can see the relative change.

> 2. Is there a way of knowing what is an acceptable flow for the fish so
> that they don't need to fight the flow so much? Currently it seems ok
> although my neon's seem to stay next to the filter in the lower part
> to avoid the current but they started swimming else where too. This
> might be due to the fact that they are newly put in.
> See pics at this page:
> http://users.pandora.be/benedict.verheyen/aquarium/aquarium.html

Ideally a tank should have a variety of areas, such as low, medium, high
(flow, light levels, shelter, amount of planting, amount of rocks etc
etc). You can then observe where the fish are spending most of their day
and also where they sleep. By observing their preferences, you can
provide more of that type of environment.

I usually point internal filters at the back wall at an angle (45
degrees) to reduce the turbulence.

> 3. I used to put plants all over my aquarium but this seemed to hamper
> the flow of the water and thus the filter process. (This is from before
> i bought my new filter.) To counter this i made an area on the left
hand
> side of the tank opposite the filter where i put a lot of gravel and
placed
> 2 plants there.
> In the rest of the tank i didn't put any plants and the gravel is only
> 1/2 inch thick. This makes sure that the filter is able to function
> properly.
> Since i only have 2 plants, i can easily pull them out to vacuum the
> thicker gravel part.
> But since i have this new more powerfull filter, i wondered if i could
> get away with placing a lot more plants in that left "plant" area so
the
> fish always have a place where the current isn't that strong. This on
the
> other hand would mean that i cannot clean the gravel there efficiently
> anymore. Would it be better to put more plants there?

I don't gravel vac around plants. Detritus = plant food. Your sloped
gravel will cause detritus to slide down to the lowest point. Put all
the plants you like :o), just distribute the gravel accordingly. I
recommend NOT uprooting plants to gravel vac.

> 4. Is there anybody who can identify the plants? I know the pics aren't
> great.
> http://users.pandora.be/benedict.verheyen/aquarium/2_plants_side.jpg
> The right plant grows very fast and is easy to divide. It gets very
long
> leaves. It might not be suited very well for a small aquarium like mine
> since the leaves are sometimes over 27 inch (70 cm)!

I'm no expert, but it could be some Jungle Vallesneria, maybe a bit of
Sagitaria sublata on the right, and on the left, perhaps Ludwigia repens.

NetMax

> Thanks,
> Benedict
>
>

[flupke]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
.. .
>
> "flupke" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hi,
> >
> > i have a 15 gallon (60 liter) aquarium that has a Eheim aquaball 2210
> filter
> > in it. Now this filter is good for aquaria up to 42 gal and has an
> output
> > of max 145,3 gph (550 lph). You can adjust the speed of the output
> > regulator by adjusting the diffusor as required. It also allows for
> oxygen
> > to be put in the water. Now for my questions
> >
> > 1. Now this might sound like a stupid question but i'm not sure which
> way
> > i have to turn the diffusor to produces less current/flow. There isn't
> > anything
> > in the booklet of the filter that says what way you have to turn to
> increase
> > or decrease the flow speed. Is there an easy way of telling? Anybody
> that
> > has such a filter or something similar?
>
> I'm not familiar with the filter model, but sticking a small plastic
> sandwich bag on the output will give you an idea of which setting is
> higher, and if you time it, you can see the relative change.
>
> > 2. Is there a way of knowing what is an acceptable flow for the fish so
> > that they don't need to fight the flow so much? Currently it seems ok
> > although my neon's seem to stay next to the filter in the lower part
> > to avoid the current but they started swimming else where too. This
> > might be due to the fact that they are newly put in.
> > See pics at this page:
> > http://users.pandora.be/benedict.verheyen/aquarium/aquarium.html
>
> Ideally a tank should have a variety of areas, such as low, medium, high
> (flow, light levels, shelter, amount of planting, amount of rocks etc
> etc). You can then observe where the fish are spending most of their day
> and also where they sleep. By observing their preferences, you can
> provide more of that type of environment.
>
> I usually point internal filters at the back wall at an angle (45
> degrees) to reduce the turbulence.
>
> > 3. I used to put plants all over my aquarium but this seemed to hamper
> > the flow of the water and thus the filter process. (This is from before
> > i bought my new filter.) To counter this i made an area on the left
> hand
> > side of the tank opposite the filter where i put a lot of gravel and
> placed
> > 2 plants there.
> > In the rest of the tank i didn't put any plants and the gravel is only
> > 1/2 inch thick. This makes sure that the filter is able to function
> > properly.
> > Since i only have 2 plants, i can easily pull them out to vacuum the
> > thicker gravel part.
> > But since i have this new more powerfull filter, i wondered if i could
> > get away with placing a lot more plants in that left "plant" area so
> the
> > fish always have a place where the current isn't that strong. This on
> the
> > other hand would mean that i cannot clean the gravel there efficiently
> > anymore. Would it be better to put more plants there?
>
> I don't gravel vac around plants. Detritus = plant food. Your sloped
> gravel will cause detritus to slide down to the lowest point. Put all
> the plants you like :o), just distribute the gravel accordingly. I
> recommend NOT uprooting plants to gravel vac.
>
> > 4. Is there anybody who can identify the plants? I know the pics aren't
> > great.
> > http://users.pandora.be/benedict.verheyen/aquarium/2_plants_side.jpg
> > The right plant grows very fast and is easy to divide. It gets very
> long
> > leaves. It might not be suited very well for a small aquarium like mine
> > since the leaves are sometimes over 27 inch (70 cm)!
>
> I'm no expert, but it could be some Jungle Vallesneria, maybe a bit of
> Sagitaria sublata on the right, and on the left, perhaps Ludwigia repens.
>
> NetMax
>
> > Thanks,
> > Benedict

Thanks for the answers NetMax!
Much appreciated.

Regards,
Benedict

[flupke]

"Larry Blanchard" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> says...
> > Thanks for the answers NetMax!
> > Much appreciated.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Benedict
> >
> >
> Benedict, how about some comments/opinions on the Aquaball? I've been
> thinking of getting one for a 20 gallon tank but haven't gotten any
> response to a previous query about it.

Well i use it in a 16 gallon tank but i'm sure it can handle a larger tank.
That's what the description also says. I use it almost fully toned down
and there is still a lot of water movement in the tank.
It seems like a robust but simpel filter and my experience is that such
design are mostly less prone to breakage.
You have a seperate inlet on top so you can mix oxygen with
the water that comes out of the outlet. It is very powerful. The only
downside for me so far is the manual in regards to the flow control.
It doesn't state which way you have to turn it to increase or decrease the
flow. That's why i made a query here in the first place. NetMax made
a good suggestion as to how i can test this.
Anyway, i might mail them to make a query about it
The LFS people also said you can get lots of parts so if something breaks
you don't have to buy a new filter immediately.

If you have any specific question, shoot.

Regards,
Benedict