Proper water inlet level?

Is there a "best" level for the water inlet to an aquarium?
Specifically, does it matter whether the inlet is above or below the
water level.? Could you please tell me the pros and cons, (if any)?

(For simplicity, please assume that all filtration (both mechanical
and biological), and aeration take place outside the tank, and that
they are all "adequate".)

Thank you very much,
Robert

IME, the water coming in should be high enough not to disturb the
substrate, and not too low to provide surface agitation, which
promotes gas exchange.

b

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"Robert" wrote in message
...
Is there a "best" level for the water inlet to an aquarium?
Specifically, does it matter whether the inlet is above or below
the
water level.? Could you please tell me the pros and cons, (if
any)?

(For simplicity, please assume that all filtration (both mechanical
and biological), and aeration take place outside the tank, and that
they are all "adequate".)

Thank you very much,
Robert

Not to the point it washes out the substrate, but its nice to have it
chop into the usrface to break up any surface skum, so the iflter can
catch it, and also to aid in gas exchange. I adjust mine so its at the
point its not inducing any bubbles when the water drops, but sitll
chops up the surface film... I use pieces of acrylic under the filters
lip that hangs on the tank to raise it if needed.
On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 16:38:51 -0700, Robert
wrote:
Is there a "best" level for the water inlet to an aquarium?
Specifically, does it matter whether the inlet is above or below the
water level.? Could you please tell me the pros and cons, (if any)?

(For simplicity, please assume that all filtration (both mechanical
and biological), and aeration take place outside the tank, and that
they are all "adequate".)

Thank you very much,
Robert

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The original frugal ponder ! Koi-ahoi mates....

The inlet should be as far from the outlet as possible, and at a
different level in the tank. This helps encourage circulation.
Popular configurations are a fairly low inlet with a spraybar outlet at
the top of the tank, or an overflow inlet with an outlet deep in the
tank. Overflows are good for planted tanks where a surface film is
common and you want to catch bits of leaves and floating debris in the
prefilter. Spraybars with a low inlet are good for tanks with a lot of
fish or large fish. The low inlet is better at sucking debris out of
the tank and the spraybar provides extra oxygenation.

"Robert" wrote in message
...
Is there a "best" level for the water inlet to an aquarium?
Specifically, does it matter whether the inlet is above or below the
water level.? Could you please tell me the pros and cons, (if any)?

(For simplicity, please assume that all filtration (both mechanical
and biological), and aeration take place outside the tank, and that
they are all "adequate".)

Thank you very much,
Robert

Below the water (if the inlet is above the water, the filter stops ;~)
.... so I guess you're talking about the return to the tank (not the
intake or inlet).

Position according to your requirements. If you only have the one filter
(ie: single canister) and are not CO2 injected, then the return is
typically located an inch or two below the waterline, (low enough to be
silent, high enough to pull some of the protein layer off the top),
pointed at an angle, opposite the location of the intake (typically but
this varies by setup) Depending on your landscaping (large plants,
rockwork collecting detritus etc), tank size, gph and the types of fish
(long cylindrical swimmers or slow flat cruisers), the optimal locations
may vary a lot (imo).
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