To much water flow?

[Goes to 11!]

+1 to the others, we need to know exact dimensions.

A photo of the filter and tank would be a massive help too.

+1
Scotti took the [repeated] words right out of my mouth.

[Hardy85]

Give this a try

http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/347/

Should help out a bit if I am understanding your problem right

[moghedan]

A. - Any number of things can be used to break up the waterflow from the return. This can be as simple as a tall decoration, like a rock, in the path to break up the flow into smaller currents. It can also be as simple as putting a little water back into the tank each day to keep the flow outlet equal to the water level. This naturally spreads the current across the top.

If the outflow is designed to be above the water level and there is just too much freefall, your best bet is in the pet turtle and frog section. They have a selection of hard and soft plastic or ceramic lillypads and whatnot to allow the animals to climb out of the water to "warm up". Several of them mount on the bottom but can be adjusted to the water level. If the tank is tall, some others float but mount to the side glass with suction cups. Just a heads up; this is a pain to clean and clean around.

EDIT - Hardy's suggestion above is really excellent.


B. - Just what is it with you people and specifications? He said it is a 15 to 20 gallon tank. Meaning, it's still pretty small, but bigger than 10. It has sand at the bottom. When the water level dips, the sand is disturbed. If you had asked how far the water is freefalling, or the depth of the tank water, those would be perfectly acceptable questions... to a point. That point was IF he had asked "Why is the sand being disturbed?" The only question the man asked was what he could do to prevent that. You harp for what... 8 posts on needing the exact size of the tank. Were you going to build a damn model in your basement and scientifically check it? Were you going to search the internet for the exact lillypad that would fit?

Seriously, I want to know why you couldn't just answer the question.

[Cliff]

moghendan: I would guess the others are wanting to know the size of the tank and the GHP flow coming from the filter. The more information the better the help will be. Everyone is trying to help the OP here. I would suggest being a little more open to some of the questions / input being asked from people with many years of experience here. They have likely come across a similar situation with one of there tanks in the past which is why they would like more details to make sure their recommendations can be applied to this situation. Post like the above will only start drama on the forum and will not help the OP in the least

[Honey Badger 1]

Moghedan, actually there is only 4 posts, out of the previous 12, requesting tank size, and the 4th post also has some useful information about the fish. Posts #5-7 were advice on diffusers which would solve the problem, but may or may not be the right solution, and Hardys post is the same as post #5, but from a different source. Then your very useful post. The reason we want specifics is to understand exactly the full picture of this situation. Depending on the exact tank size in relation to the filter, the issue might be solved with keeping the tank filled to the brim, a diffuser, a spray-bar, a smaller filter. To know the proper advice to give, we have to know the exact tank size and filter and without knowing that information it's just a shot in the dark guess. Another way to put it is, some of us have a whole lot of experience giving advice on this forum and know what we need to know in order to give the right advice, and if that information isn't there we ask.
Icefreeze, I'm glad you knew better than to get one neon, they are schooling fish and need larger groups. Another way to slow down the flow is to put a sponge pre-filter on the intake of the filter.

[mollybegood]

I(shrimpbegood, Mollybegood's dad at work lol) had to much water flow causing my white cloud minnows to stay at one end of the aquarium. I cut a milk jug(gallon size) in half, and laid it on top of my aquaclear 70 filter. I trimmed the side that hangs in the water to just below the output ledge of the filter. Works very well.