River tank...how often should the tank water be turned over?

[monkeyboy]

Ok, so I'd like to simulate a slow moving stream. How often should the water be turned over (gph)? Currently, I think I'll be doing something like 11 gallons of water, cycled at 150 gph. Can I push the gph higher? Perhaps to 200 gph? I guess I can try it out and see if I make a slow flowing stream....or a raging rapids.

Anyone have experience with river tanks?

- mb

 

[fishysmell]

150-200 sounds about right. You can always tweak it when you get it in there. Just be sure to get fish that like/don't mind current. Either that or put in some inlets where the main current flows past but not in. Sounds like a cool plan. I know you've been planning this for a while and I want to see some pics when its up and running. Good luck.

 

[monkeyboy]

Thanks for the second opinion.

The way I have it planned, there should be a "calm" area. I was thinking of using white cloud minnows in the tank...they are stream dwellers, from what I can gather.

- mb

 

[wayne]

I've kept L numbers in tanks with pretty high turnovers, but I've never had the moral fibre to go the whole 'river' setup. Remember that a lot of fish spend most of their time in the bottom 'sheltering' from the current, like most cats, steatocranus and other african riverine cichlids (telmatachromis) , there are also larger fish that move in the main curent. I saw photos of a stream in Peru that had a variety of cats, altum angels and geophagus ? in white water flowing over rocks.
Many of these fish don't need the water movement, but do appreciate the high dissolved oxygen