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Filter Tubing

Dave Pierce

Member
Joined
14 Jan 2013
Messages
195
Location
England
Hi, not sure if this is a silly question or not. But does the length of your filter tubing effect the flow rate? I'm starting to think the flow rate in my tank is not enough so wondering if shortening the filter tubing will make a difference...
 
I'm going to shorten to tubing today and see what effect it has, if any. I've measured the flow coming out of the lily pipe by simply holding the lily pipe outlet 1 inch above the water and measuring the gush of water coming out. If it spurts out further after I've shortened the tubing then I assume the answer to my question is yes!


It's possible, if the tubing is long and has many kinks, it will reduce the flow to an extent. But adding a powerhead may do a better job if more flow is what you are looking for.
A powerhead sounds the easiest solution, I will probably get one of these anyway :)


Or get a bigger filter....or use a lot less light...
My filters lph is around 7 or 8x greater than the tanks capacity, although I'm thinking it doesn't perform as well as it's meant to. I might think about a larger filter, or maybe a second filter.

Does the amount of filter media in the filter have an impact on the flow rate?
 
Well I've just shortened the filter tubing by around 2/3 of the amount (not sure why I decided to have this much excess tubing in the first place!). The flow rate has definitely increased as the water coming out the output pipe is shooting out further. My Rotala is actually swaying at the back now! :) I didn't take any filter media out because I had a gut feeling it would do more bad than good. I guess now I will just wait to see the results.

Thanks for your input.
 
Length of pipework can have a big difference on the frictional head that the pump has to work against, especially with external filters which work against a static head of effectively zero. Another thing that makes a big difference is the diameter of the pipework and any restrictions to it such as kinks or sharp bends. Make sure all your bends are swept and, if you need a long run of pipework or tubing then consider stepping up the diameter or using lengths of larger diameter PVC pipe.

Media will impact flow if it is low void and packed tightly but left open with a lot of water space between the media it shouldn't impact too much.
 
Thanks Ed, it never occurred to me when I set it up that the length of pipework could affect the flow rate. I literately had excess tubing curled up on the floor. No need for it. Cutting the tubing down by more than half has improved the performance more than I thought it would. :)
 
Length of pipework can have a big difference on the frictional head that the pump has to work against, especially with external filters which work against a static head of effectively zero. Another thing that makes a big difference is the diameter of the pipework and any restrictions to it such as kinks or sharp bends. Make sure all your bends are swept and, if you need a long run of pipework or tubing then consider stepping up the diameter or using lengths of larger diameter PVC pipe.

Media will impact flow if it is low void and packed tightly but left open with a lot of water space between the media it shouldn't impact too much.


Are some pipes better at others with regards internal friction too ? IE is eheim better than JBL is better than fluval etc ?
 
Are some pipes better at others with regards internal friction too ? IE is eheim better than JBL is better than fluval etc ?

Only if the internal diameter is rougher on one than the other or they are made from much thinner tubing which will collapse and kink more easily. If I had a long run to use (More then 3m or so) I would look at either rigid PVC / solvent weld black pipe or high quality ribbed pipe with smooth inside.

BTW Dave, did you study Biology at University of York in the late 90s?
 
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