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A handy little plan to improve water circulation in your tank

I used to struggle with my water circulation. Often the plants grew well, but in some places I had significantly less plant growth.

Sometimes even worse. My plants grew very well, but in 1 particular spot I always had algae. Very bizarre to see. What was the problem? I suffered from so-called "dead spots".

What are dead spots?

A dead spot is a place in your aquarium where the flow is a lot less than elsewhere. Very often you recognize it because you have beautiful plant growth everywhere, but at that one specific spot the plants clearly grow less well or you have algae. Why is that?

In that spot the water circulation is not good. This makes it much more difficult for the plants in that spot to get to the nutrients and CO2. These nutrients are carried away by the water flow. The result? Poor plant growth and algae.

3 ways to improve water circulation

OK, so you’ve come to the conclusion that you have dead spots and so you need to improve the water circulation in your aquarium. But how? I usually use the following 3 methods:

  1. Maintain your filter well, change the filter wool monthly to prevent it from clogging up. A clogged filter loses a lot of flow and therefore slows down the entire water circulation in your tank;
  2. Change the direction of the flow. If, for example, you have your filter outlet in a straight line, place it on the other side towards the dead spots. Keep trying and changing positions until the plant growth improves;
  3. Place an additional filter or flow pump. Direct it as much as possible to the dead spots. A “wave pump” is ideal for this, as it provides a deep, broad flow.

A convenient plan for the direction of flow

Unfortunately, the perfect flow direction does not exist. It depends from tank to tank: which equipment are you using, which plants, how is the CO2 added, … However, I can give you these two tips:

  • Do not place flow sources opposite each other as they will counteract each other. So don’t place your filter outlet directly opposite a circulation pump;
  • Place the filter inlet and outlet next to each other. That way you create a “circular” flow direction in your aquarium.

Here’s a picture showing how the flow in your tank should look like:

Stromingsrichting & watercirculatie aquarium

Do you see how the flow runs? It goes from right to left, rebounds against the glass and returns to the filter outlet.

Improved the water circulation? Check the rest too

You have improved the flow in your tank? Then don’t forget my previous tips:

  • Keep adding my fertilizer
  • Check if your CO2 is still good
  • Check whether your lighting is in balance with the CO2 you are adding

PS: will you help me this time? :-)

You will get an email in a few days where you can leave a review for my products. I would really love it if you would leave a nice review because it helps me a lot. Moreover, you will receive a nice discount coupon, so it’s nice for you too 🙂