{"id":144724,"date":"2016-04-12T21:58:51","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T19:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/stromingsrichting-watercirculatie-aquarium\/"},"modified":"2025-01-26T17:11:28","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T16:11:28","slug":"water-circulation-aquarium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/blog\/startup-maintenance\/water-circulation-aquarium\/","title":{"rendered":"Water circulation aquarium: a handy guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Do you have \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/blog\/startup-maintenance\/improve-circulation-flow-aquarium\/\">dead spots<\/a>\u201d in your tank?<\/p>\n<p>Time to take another look at the water circulation in your aquarium and evaluate it. Maybe the aquarium flow rate is too low? Maybe the flow direction is just not right?<\/p>\n<p>In this article, I\u2019ll explain what a good flow in aquarium is and how you can tell if your aquarium water flow is too much or too little.<\/p>\n<h2>Water circulation aquarium: What is the best flow direction?<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>best flow direction unfortunately doesn\u2019t exist<\/strong> because every aquarium is different: the strength of the filter, plants used, fish, CO2 usage, and more.<\/p>\n<p>I can give you a good starting point that you can tweak later on.<\/p>\n<p><!--more Check out my tips--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First of all, make sure the flow sources don\u2019t face each other because they\u2019ll cancel each other out. So don\u2019t place your filter outlet directly opposite a circulation pump.<\/li>\n<li>Secondly, I recommend placing the <a href=\"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/product\/flow-lily-pipe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">filter inlet and outlet<\/a> next to each other. This creates a \u201ccircular\u201d flow in your aquarium.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/aquaessentials.co.uk\/blog\/2014\/03\/position-your-circulation-pump-like-this.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Richard<\/a> from AquaEssentials illustrated this beautifully in the photo below:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4199\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4199\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/stromingsrichting-circulatie-aquarium.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4199\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4199\" src=\"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/stromingsrichting-circulatie-aquarium.jpg\" alt=\"Flow direction and water circulation aquarium\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/stromingsrichting-circulatie-aquarium.jpg 800w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/stromingsrichting-circulatie-aquarium-470x313.jpg 470w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/stromingsrichting-circulatie-aquarium-50x33.jpg 50w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/stromingsrichting-circulatie-aquarium-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/stromingsrichting-circulatie-aquarium-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/stromingsrichting-circulatie-aquarium-125x83.jpg 125w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/stromingsrichting-circulatie-aquarium-75x50.jpg 75w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/stromingsrichting-circulatie-aquarium-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/stromingsrichting-circulatie-aquarium-110x73.jpg 110w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4199\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Recommended flow in aquarium. Source: Aqua Essentials<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>See what I mean? The flow moves from right to left, bounces off the glass on the other side, and returns to the filter outlet.<\/p>\n<h2>Alternative for good flow in aquarium: the spray bar<\/h2>\n<p>Do you have a spray bar instead of a regular filter outlet? You know, one of those plastic or glass tubes with small holes?<\/p>\n<p>Well, I recommend placing it <strong>on the back, pointing toward the front glass<\/strong>. This way, the water bounces off the front, flows downward, and then back to the filter inlet, which is also placed on the back.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Prototype Glass Spraybar for aquariums\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nNlk1t_kl1M?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/planted-box.com\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The extra benefit is more flow at the base of your plants. This helps CO2 and nutrients reach the lower leaves, improving their growth.<\/p>\n<h2>How can you tell if your aquarium water flow is not good enough?<\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ll notice \u201cdead spots,\u201d which you can <a href=\"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/blog\/startup-maintenance\/improve-circulation-flow-aquarium\/\">read more about in this article<\/a>. Another clue is if <a href=\"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/blog\/startup-maintenance\/clean-aquarium\/\">waste, rotting material, or other debris<\/a> tend to accumulate in certain spots. Adding a circulation pump or improving the flow can help.<\/p>\n<p>[ninja-inline id=5671]<\/p>\n<p><strong>Handy tip:<\/strong> All your plants should sway a little in the flow\u2014that\u2019s a sign that your aquarium flow rate is about right!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/product\/all-in-one\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-137890\" src=\"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/All-in-One-_EI_-NL.jpg\" alt=\"|\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/All-in-One-_EI_-NL.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/All-in-One-_EI_-NL-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/All-in-One-_EI_-NL-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/All-in-One-_EI_-NL-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/All-in-One-_EI_-NL-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/All-in-One-_EI_-NL-380x380.jpg 380w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/All-in-One-_EI_-NL-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/All-in-One-_EI_-NL-470x470.jpg 470w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/All-in-One-_EI_-NL-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/All-in-One-_EI_-NL-170x170.jpg 170w, https:\/\/planted-box.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/All-in-One-_EI_-NL-80x80.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>At which point is the aquarium water flow too strong?<\/h2>\n<p>If your plants are getting uprooted or your fish can barely rest \ud83d\ude09 In that case, you can reduce the aquarium filter flow rate by simply <strong>slowing down the pump<\/strong>. If you\u2019re not sure how to do that, it\u2019s best to contact the manufacturer!<\/p>\n<h2>What about you?<\/h2>\n<p>How\u2019s the water circulation in your aquarium?<\/p>\n<p>Feel free to let me know in the comments below!<\/p>\n<p>[kkstarratings]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you have \u201cdead spots\u201d in your tank? Time to take another look at the water circulation in your aquarium and evaluate it. Maybe the aquarium flow rate is too low? Maybe the flow direction is just not &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"bwfblock_default_font":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2411,2413],"tags":[2417,2505],"class_list":["post-144724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startup-maintenance","category-tips-for-beginners","tag-aquariumtechniek-en","tag-opstart-onderhoud-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144724"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144726,"href":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144724\/revisions\/144726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planted-box.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}