[eiginh]

I read from different forums that a heavily planted tank should have 10x the circulation of a tank. Assuming the formula would be 10 (10 gallon) x 10 gph = 100 gph. Atm I have a penguin 150b and it's doing pretty well for a filter but I don't think the circulation is good enough. Now I am wondering if I should purchase canister or a HOT magnum. Please help me out. Thanks!

 

[ron521]

People have all kinds of different preferences and rules of thumb about this.
10x seems like the very upper limit to me, I used to have two Emperor 400's on a 75 gallon, so had about 800 gph. Water quality was good, but no better than what I have with two airstone driven HydroSponges, (plus a separate, 8" airstone at the back of the tank to help circulate the water).
Its difficult to measure water flow, but when feeding, flakes travel in a very slow loop down the front of the tank, and up the back.
I'm sure my water moves through the filters much more slowly than 10x per hour, although the "turnover", water moving from the bottom to the surface, may approach that rate (one "loop" every six minutes?).

 

[Whiskeyfox]

I recently purchased a Fluval 205 for a 10g that i had before upgrading to my current 20H. It was a little much, but all i had to do was reduce the water flow and it was perfect for my needs. I had been using HOB filters all my life. The reason to get a canister is because in a planted aquarium it reduces the amount of disturbance of the surface tension so as to not allow the Co2 to escape. What i love most about the system is how quiet it is. You don't realize how much noise is created by a HOB until you get one of these. The diffence is like night and day, and the tranquility from the lack of splashing noise is priceless. Not to mention the fact that the canister is hidden from view and not some bulky edifice attached to the back of your tank.

 

[radwaste]

If you want to use a HOT Magnum PM me, I have an extra I use to use as a Gravel Vac.

 

[eiginh]

Is there a way to reduce the water flow from the magnum? 250 is a bit too much for a 10g.

 

[bradac56]

Not from my experience but my magnum is a used one and it's really noisy compared to Eheim Classic's.

- Brad

 

[Wasserpest]

A HOT Magnum will turn a 10gal tank into a whirlpool. Not that there is anything wrong with a whirlpool.

There are ways to reduce the flow, but then, the question is why?

There are small canisters that should work much better. Like the one Whiskey mentioned, or the smallest Eheim, or a C160.

 

[lauraleellbp]

I'm running a Rena XP1 on my 10gal. Flow is pretty strong, but I like it.

 

[eiginh]

I'm going to go with the rena xp1

You're right about purchasing a higher gph, might as well go with a lower gph. Reason I brought it up b/c it is cheaper than the canisters but I found a good deal with the xp1. Thanks everyone.