Aquarium Water Circulation is Important
The first time I hooked up some additional powerheads to my 75 gallon aquarium I was surprised at the immediate effects.
The water return is right in the middle of the tank, so I put a powerhead on each end of the tank in the upper-right corners. These powerheads allowed me to create current in the dead spots on each end of the aquarium.
Debris Lifting
When I first turned the powerheads on after installing them, I was surprised at the debris that was lifted off the rocks and began circulating within the water in the aquarium. This was a good thing though! All of the that debris that had been sitting stagnant in the water was now being kicked around and sucked into the filtration systems in my aquarium.
After time, nuisance algae became less of a nuisance and overall the quality of life in the aquarium seems to have improved. I wish that I had added some powerheads to the aquarium earlier!
More Water Circulation Info
I have recently added a new page to the resources of this web site about aquarium water circulation. Check it out to learn more about the benefits of better water flow.
Tools & Products to Help Improve Aquarium Water Circulation
AquaClear Powerhead Model 30 – These particular powerheads are nice because they have an air intake to help oxygenate the aquarium and also contain a deflection shield to control where the water flow will go, making it easy to focus water flow in your aquarium.
Koralia Water Circulation Pumps – The Koralia pumps are a little different style than the before mentioned powerhead. They are designed to provide broad, powerful and gentle currents in an aquarium. These powerheads are my personal choice. They work well for any application but are especially nice for corals since the flow is powerful and gentle at the same time. My fish love the current provided by these water circulation pumps!
Related posts:
Luke is the owner and caretaker of a 75 gallon aquarium in his home studio. Good times.
Email this author | All posts by Luke
This excellent summary helped me very much! Bookmarked your website, very interesting categories everywhere that I see here! I really appreciate the info, thanks.
Thanks for the Information, i have a 20 gallon tank, i am a beginner , i have purchased a internal power filter, when i fixed it in my aquarium , i felt very water circulation, i thought its bad for fish, i have seen only small corner filters, these kind filters dosent have water circulation , i thought to change my filter, after reading this, i am satisfied with my current filter. Unfortunately it was suitable for large aquarium “1200/L” is the model size.
anyway i will not run it 24 hrs, hope my fish get enough time 2 relax
Thanks for the comment! Yeah I wouldn’t suggest overdoing it with water circulation, it’s pretty easy to have too much if you put a big pump in a small tank. However, I do find that fish like it better when they have some current to swim into, but you don’t want to add too much.