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How effective, in l/h, a centrifugial pump should be used to create the needed current to a zebra breeding tank of 490 l? I have currently a 3400 l/h Eheim 1262 in addition to filters. I consider it inadequate. I am pondering purchasing a Tunze turbelle stream 6080 of over 8000 l/h - hopefully that will do... What are your experiences?

Saara,

Can you explain to us how tthis centrifugal pump works? I have never seen or heard of a cetrifugal pump for aqauarium use sold in the US.

(I was actaully thinking of setting up some kind of DIY cetrifugal pump in a sump as part of a cooling system, but that's obviously not what you have in mind.)

Dinyar

Saara, the first thing I wanted to bring up is that's a pretty big tank to be breeding zebras. not that it won't work, but it tends to be more common in smaller tanks, 10, 20, 30 gallons. but a big tank like that'd hold a heck of a breeding colony. the new pump probably will be great for plecos, other fish will possibly have some issues, but the zebras should be happy. Be interesting to see what comes of this setup.

Hi!

To add to Scott, I will say that you probably have a community tank here and trust me Hypancistrus zebra just won't behave right in such setup especially if there are many other fish on the bottom!
I have several friends who had spawn of Hypancistrus zebra in their community tank but just could not raise a single batch because the male was eating all the eggs, he was being anoyed by some many other fish...
They finally setted up a species tank just for them ( around 100 liter/25Gal) and it all work fine and now are raising batch regulary.
This Loricariidae is very shy and very easy dominated by other Loricariidae, you need to give him a rather peacefull setup , where he can be the dominant fish in the bottom!

Now the water flow created by the current should be around 10-20 times the volume of the tank per hour, there is not really a need to get over that rate!
Secondly: could you explain what a centrifugal pumps is? do you mean a internal filter, like powerhead?

Cheers
Yann

Dinyar and Yann,

Centrifugal pumps are the regular pumps we know and use (powerheads, in internal filters, etc.). These are the ones that use an impeller for the pumping action, as opposed to the more complex positive displacement pumps, which use either a diaphragm or a flexible tube.
Here's a great explanation of the working principle behind different types of pumps:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-04/rn/

Thanks. As a non-native english speaker I decided to call the thing a centrifugal pump because they are typically sold under that name at the internet store I use. And as Silurus kindly explained, I really referred to a powerhead as you seemed to call it. If you want to learn languages, they are called 'kiertovesipumppu' in finnish (kierto = rotation, vesi = water, pumppu = pump)...

Thanks again Yann and S. Allen for your advise. Actually, I have three tanks: a 65 l tank, that I am going to turn into a killifish tank in the near future, a 170 l community tank and that 490 l tank. Maybe I should let the zebras grow up in the 490 l tank and then turn the 170 l tank into a zebra breeding tank, remove all the other fish from there and move the zeras in there.

In the 170 l tank I have dwarf cichlids and a Panaqolus cf. maccus and a school of tetras. In the 490 l tank I have currently two Baryancistrus sp. LDA 33 and four zebras and two more are coming soon. I have also some juvenile bristlenoses everywhere... Would six zebras fit into a 170 l tank?

Saara:
Have you bought much from this shop? I need varius gear for some breeding-projects I am planning, and the prices here look very nice

Köning Löwe, I ordered a Eheim 1262 powerhead, a Sera nitrate test and some Eheim spear parts and a filterplate before Christmas. I chose cash-on-delivery payment and received all things within a month except for the fiterplate, which they didn't have on the stock, but I didn't had to pay for that, however. A few days ago I placed another order for two Mergus Atlas books in another web store Aquaristik.net. People in my local aquarists' forum have had good experiences on those web stores, not without exceptions, nonetheless: they might deliver you wrong items or so sometimes. All in all, I would recommend those German web stores.

Saara, depends on the size breeding group you want to keep, really for a male and 2 females, or even 2 males and 3 females a 65l might be ok, but tight... if you throw a good mix of 8 or 10 zebras in a 170l with lots of caves and rockwork, you could have some nice results I'm thinking. I however have never bred them, those are my guesses, but I'd suggest a species only tank, even if it could happen in a multispecies tank.

I have four of them and two other ones waiting in the aquarium store for me to pick them up. They are quite young so that it is hard to sex them. I have tried to select two males and two females, but you never know until they have grown up. Thanks again, S. Allen. You have a fine homepage, especially the comparison of zebra pleco and the white rabbit in Alice in the Wonderland hit the nail on the head.