Top 5 factors that determine Turnover Rate

[dawnmarie]

What do you think are the top 5 factors that determine the water turnover rate of an aquarium ?
Preferably but not neccessarily in order of importance? Your five factors may not be the same five as someone else's but please list them anyway. If they don't make the top 5 and enough people list them the I will expand the list.
I would like to take all your input and put together a chart to help myself and others benefit from your collective experiences. I'm not concentrating on the actual flow rate number as much as the method you used to determine it. I think this could help to demistify the process. If you could give a brief description of your setup (tank size, filtration, Fish type and load) this would also be helpful in understanding your response.

Thanks everybody and let's have fun with this and maybe learn something from it .

 

[Flash]

My turnover rate in my 29 gallon tank is 22.41. A Penguin 350, and a DIY sump. I have a really heavy bio load tho.

 

[poly-nomial]

I guess it depends on how much media and what kind. Also how big the tank is and how high the input rate on the filter is set to.

 

[Sab_Fan]

just off the top of my head:

> size/power of the pump (more power = more t/o)
> type and quantity of media (more media or heavier media will reduce t/o)
> cleaning routine (dirty media = reduced t/o)
> by-pass rate (more by-pass = more t/o, but not in a good way)
> filter intakes (if you use, say, a sponge intake, you will reduce t/o)

that's what I could think off . . .

 

[dawnmarie]

My turnover rate in my 29 gallon tank is 22.41. A Penguin 350, and a DIY sump. I have a really heavy bio load tho.

Assuming this isn't your first tank(and if it is thats OK too), how did you decide on this combination and flow rate? What factors went into your decisions ? If you got it all as a package deal that would be as good an answer as any. I'm really trying to see if flow rates are determined by chance, conscious decision, or monkey see monkey doo.

 

[dawnmarie]

just off the top of my head:

> size/power of the pump (more power = more t/o)
> type and quantity of media (more media or heavier media will reduce t/o)
> cleaning routine (dirty media = reduced t/o)
> by-pass rate (more by-pass = more t/o, but not in a good way)
> filter intakes (if you use, say, a sponge intake, you will reduce t/o)

that's what I could think off . . .

Fishaddict401 and Sab-Fan gave the exact kind of responses I'm hoping for.
Thanks MFK

 

[Flash]

Assuming this isn't your first tank(and if it is thats OK too), how did you decide on this combination and flow rate? What factors went into your decisions ? If you got it all as a package deal that would be as good an answer as any. I'm really trying to see if flow rates are determined by chance, conscious decision, or monkey see monkey doo.

Nope, not my first. lol. On the combination for that: I've got 6 plecos, breeding pair of severums, 3 clown loaches. 4) L-66, 1) L-190, 1) L-18. They need fast water movement, so instead of buying just a powerhead for current, I made a DIY sump, where the CL's stay, as they're really small. So the sevs stay middle range of the tank. I've got places where no current is, so they can rest. Seems tight, but in reality it's not that much.

 

[dawnmarie]

Thanks Flash, so it would probably safe to say that in your application the need for artificial current was the major deciding factor?

 

[Flash]

Thanks Flash, so it would probably safe to say that in your application the need for artificial current was the major deciding factor?

Yes. I also have a powerhead that is in the tank for extra current too. I did not factor that in to the turnover rate.

The decision for high turnover is apparent in all of my tanks. I always have a minimum of 10x in my tanks. Sometimes higher, like 15. I can have high turnover without having lots off current. But those two usually go together.

 

[dawnmarie]

Thanks