How can I balance flow for my plants and keep my Betta happy?

[JamieB]

Hi all

So my nano tanks both have Betta's in which as most people probably know, don't like much flow. This means that ferts/liquid carbon etc may not reach the plants I have, so what can I do to balance out this issue and keep both happy?

The tank I have is a Fluval Spec V with the standard filtration system set to the max flow (which does move a lot of water) and a sponge over the output to soften the flow and keep Alfred, my Betta, happy.

 

[Rahms]

may not

First thing is to determine whether this means "will not" or "will." If your plants seem fine there is no issue! If you do have a problem, a horizontal spray bar is your best bet to get lots of water moving at a low speed.

 

[Michael W]

Fluval Spec V is not the biggest of tanks, and depending on what plants you have, you may not necessarily need a lot of the flow. In my old Betta tank I had my spray bars facing the wall of which the filter was hanging to lessen the flow but it had enough to keep plants swaying.

If you have low lighting and low demanding plants which do not need CO2 to properly grow eg Anubias, Crypts, mosses and ferns then you should be fine without a lot of flow which your betta will appreciate.