# Canister filter discharge and intake placement question...



## greaser84 (Feb 2, 2014)

They should always be on opposite ends as far away from each other as possible. I have a 55 with the intake on the back right corner and the spray bar of the back left corner, which I imagine is pretty standard. Anyone who puts the intake and output next to each other is not filtering their tank properly. I don't know of any good reason to have them next to each other.


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## Billium (Mar 13, 2015)

Thats exactly how I have mine set up. Intake and discharge at opposite corners of the tank. I just thought there was some reason people put both intakes and discharge at the same end. Laziness? LOL


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## DevilDogDoc (Dec 12, 2014)

People put them on the same side for aesthetics I believe


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Spray bar (or other inlet) at the top/back/center aimed horizontally toward the front shoots the water across the top of the tank, 
It hits the front glass and is deflected down and sideways (both ways). 
It hits the bottom of the tank (well, substrate) and is deflected toward the rear of the tank along the bottom, hopefully moving the debris toward the intake. 
Water, heavily laden with debris ends up at the back of the tank. 
Intake should be centered at the back, near the bottom. Essentially this is directly under the spray bar.


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## Bob Madoran (Dec 22, 2014)

The clean discharged water would not be sucked right back up if the discharge and intake are located on the same side of the tank. If that were the case then hang on back filters wouldn't be every effective and there are many people use them without issues.

Not everybody has the same plants, rocks, wood, etc. in their tanks and those things will have some effect on how the water flows through the tank and what actually looks good. If you like the way your tank looks and you feel you are getting decent water flow throughout your tank, then you have it set up correctly even if it does not match what somebody else has done.


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## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

It's because when you have the intake and spray bar on the same side the spray bar shoots the water across the tank which then hits the glass on the other side and pushes any debris back toward the intake and also create a circling water flow. This is what I have been told since day one and seems to be very common with most people tanks. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## King of Hyrule (Apr 29, 2013)

*Here's my setup*

Ok, first my solution is to costly. 

I used two Eheim modular spray bar setups, to run my spray bar nearly the entire width (left to right) of my tank. This required only one of the four elbows that came with the two spray bar sets (AEH4005310). I still have one drilled section. The water movement created by all the drilled section makes for a very slow and calm The water jets are aimed up and towards the front of the tank. They break the surface of the water, to help add O2 and keep anything from building up on the top of the water. 










I've used the remaining three elbow to move the Eheim intake (AEH4005300) closer to the middle of the tank, and position the intake parallel to the spray bar. I've been considering using the one last drilled section of the spray bar pipe to set up a failsafe siphon, and use top down tube it replaces to move then intake nuzzle even more into the center of the back the tank. (I'll try this next water change).










Watching food and plant matter move through the water column. I think the water exits the spray bar hits the front of the glass, and corkscrews its way down the tank. The right side of the tank spins counter clockwise, while the left side water turns clockwise. Things get weird at the middle and around the driftwood. 

In effect, my water output and intake are on the same side of the tank, in my case the back. The water gets filtered, there's no doubt about that. I think as long as the output isn't plugged directly into the intake the intake is going to pull in enough 'yet-to-be-filtered' water to work. It might tank longer to clean the entire water column, but it's going to get there.

*The Eheim parts are connected to Fluvial 206 with vinyl 5/8" ID hose. I also bought an extra set of Eheim suction cups at the LFS, which have been a great addition, keeping the entire set up locked into place.

** I have notice some longer pieces of Val grass getting stuck at the elbows in the intake tubing from time to time. The stuck plant bits don't last long. I'm assuming the break down enough to unstuck themselves or something else dislodges it. So far not problems with all the right angles the water has to navigate to get into the filter.


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## Billium (Mar 13, 2015)

I'm very anal about clean water so I guess its a big part of that and making sure the current isn't too strong for the 4 angels I have in the tank. The other fish don't mind the current at all. I'm just not sure the angels like it too much. I might drill way bigger holes in the spray bar or try the intake and discharge on the same side. This Odyessea CFS500 has some crazy flow. Thing has massive 1" hoses on it.

I took your guys advice and felt the current was a little too strong the way I had it so I made a 40" long spraybar, put it on the back firing towards the front of the tank and put the intake right in the middle rear of the tank. Fish seem alot happier and there is an overall good current throughout the tank.


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## Griffins (12 mo ago)

Billium said:


> I have a question hopefully someone can answer. I just setup my new Odyessea CFS500 canister filter on my 55g today and I have the intake and discharge setup on opposite sides of the tank and its making a nice current in the tank the way I have it setup. My question is... Why do I see alot of people putting the intake and discharge on the same side of the tank? Wouldn't all the clean discharged water be sucked right back up again? Or no? Explain...


Depends. If you use a spraybar then either side should make little difference but I would still have intake on same side. If your canister has a nozzle like many Fluvals there is an eddie created around and below the output where most of the debris is likely to end up which will be picked up by the intake. If you look at junk in a river it is never ends up where the current is going it is where the dead spot is. Water flows towards an Eddy. You can also think of it as a low pressure area.


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