Surface Agitation

[+KimP]

I've had a canister filter since I set up my tank, so like 4 years now. I've used it to run carbon, etc. Well it crapped out on me today after running flawlessly all this time. I decided it was actually a blessing, to not have to unhook and clean the darn thing every week, so I pulled it off the tank. I plan on getting one of my hob filters out of the garage and just using that for media. Anyway, I just realized, duh - the other main thing I use it for is surface agitation. It's been 6 hrs or so since the canister quit and there's already a slight film on the water surface. I have an aqua c remora hob skimmer, so I think that is doing a good job of gaseous exchange. Is this a problem? What do yall do for surface agitation that don't run a canister? When I get the hob filter going will that be enough?

Thanks! I hope removing the canister on my measly 40 gal doesn't cause a cycle....

[+brian.srock]

That film on your surface is what you want your aqua c to pick up and if you have a pre-skimmer box on it then you'll be getting most of the gunk out. I believe with all the flow it'll actually make it a bit harder for your skimmer to pick it up since it's not at the surface but thats just me. You shouldn't start a cycle as long as your keeping up with your water changes. I didn't have flow in my tank for a whole year. I would recommend the whisper 40i since their very cheap and you can find the filters for them at walmart or petsmart really cheap. Its very quiet, easy to take apart and clean, and very easy to switch out the filter each week during water changes for a new one. This along with my Aqua C really helps keep my tank crystal clean. You will have to make a slight modification using a piece of wood to help support it since the 47 tall's top lip goes too far out for it. 5 minute project though.

Edited May 9, 2011 by brian.srock

[mFrame]

I prefer a few powerheads for surface agitation. Here's what I'm running on my 90g:

my return lines - forced with locline, I have the returns at surface level to provide agitation at both ends of the tank

Tunze nano wavebox - the waves provide quite a bit of agitation alone and I love the movement

(2) Tunze 6025, (1) Koralia 1 PH - just to keep stuff stirred up and moving throughout the tank

Three addtional powerheads are probably overkill, but I had them before I got the wavemaker and just never removed them. The more you can agitate the surface the better, especially as temperatures rise. It helps oxygenate the water.

[pbnj]

I like my water surface to be rockin'. It creates a great shimmer effect with the halides.

[atxmandarin]

kim move the top koralia to about 1 inch below the water surface angled upward, put it toward the left

[+KimP]

kim move the top koralia to about 1 inch below the water surface angled upward, put it toward the left

Hey great minds think alike, that's exactly what I did. My main concern was gas exchange since the footprint of my tank is so small compared to the volume. Having the pump at the top creates just enough agitation. The skimmer should take care of the bulk of it I'm sure anyway. Thanks!

[Timfish]

I like alot of surface agitation also. I read somewhere a long time ago it's a lot harder to get CO2 out of water than to get O2 into water. With it's adverse affect on pH that's something I've always been sensitive to. A simple test to see how well your system is getting rid of CO2 is remove a bucket from the middle of the water and areate it heavily for 24 hours then test the pH if the pH in the tank is lower than the pH of the water in the bucket steps should be taken to increase surface agitation. It's better to use an airline or airstone since the heat from a pump might have some effect on the saturation levels.