Best Aquarium Spray Bars 2023 & Installation Guide

For those who started taking care of fishes in their homes but have no idea what to put inside their aquariums, why not try buying spray bars for it? Spray bars, like those tubes connected to my garden hose?’ you may ask. And to that, the answer is yes. Aquariums also have spray bars that can filter and pump the water inside them.

If you are new to buying items for your aquarium, we are here to solve that problem for you! In this article, we will discuss what spray bars are, why you need one in your aquarium, and what types you should get.

	Cheap & Good	Our Favorite	Customers Choice
Product	Martha Stewart crafts, multi-surface aquarium Paint	Eheim AEH4004310 Spray Bar Set	Fluval Hagen Spray Bar Kit
Size	13 x 0.5 x 0.75 inches	8.9 x 4.33 x 2.68 inches	Extendable from 15-30 inches
Weight	2.4 Ounces	4.33 Pounds	6.35 Ounces
Color	Black	Clear/Black	Black
Comes with	both 1/2” and 5/8” diameter slip fittings, 2 x 90 degree elbows, 1 x 1/2” plug, 1 x 5/8” plug, 2 x suction cups, 2 x 6.5” drilled segments	1 connector complete, 1 Elbow, 3 extension tubes with holes, 4 suction cups and 4 clips, 1 quick release coupling, 1 cap for the spray bar	Perforated tube with end cap (15″ / 30 cm), Perforated tube extension (15″ / 30 cm), Tube connector, J connector, Elbow, Suction cups (x 4), Clips (x 4)
Our Rating	4/5	4.5/5	4/5
	View on Amazon	View on Amazon	View on Amazon

Aquarium Spray Bars – What it is and how it works

Where does the oxygen inside the aquarium come from? The obvious answer for that question is, of course, at the surface of the aquarium. What do aquarium spray bars do to the oxygen inside the aquarium? It may look like a flute if you look at it, but it does not play music for fish when you use it. Instead, what the spray bar does is that it spreads evenly the flowing water that goes through it inside the aquarium.

Because the water flows evenly inside your aquarium, it causes surface agitation inside it to allow more oxygen to get inside. And although it may look like a flute, you should put your spray bar in a horizontal position.

So why should you install a Spray Bar in your Aquarium?

One of the factors you should think about when buying a fish is to know what kind of water it wants to be in before putting it in your aquarium. A lot of pet fishes prefer to live within an area with moving water. If you want to satisfy your fish, you may want to buy a spray bar for your aquarium to make its water move.

You can also attach a filtration system to it to clean the water that flows inside the bar. Depending on the type of filtration system you use in your aquarium, your spray bar will help in many ways.

If you attach canister filters along with your spray bar, you can filter the water used inside your container. The filtered water will then spill out of the spray bar so your aquarium can reuse the water instead of replacing it with a new one. With a canister filter-attached spray bar, it reduces the likeliness of the aquarium water from evaporating.

For trickle filters, the spray bar works differently in that it spreads unfiltered water in the filter media of the aquarium. A certain spray bar called a “spinner” suits the trickle filter’s system in this case as it rotates the water inside the container.

If your water moves and agitates without a spray bar well enough to satisfy your fish, then there is no need for you to buy one anymore. You can add a spray bar in your aquarium if space inside your aquarium needs movement and agitation.

The Best Aquarium Spray Bars in 2023

1st Eheim 4005310 Spray Bar Set 

2nd Eheim AEH4004310 Spray Bar Set

3rd Fluval Hagen Spray Bar Kit

4th UP Aqua Rain Bar Unit Fish Tank Outflow Pipe

How to choose the Placement of your Aquarium Spray Bar

To find out where and how you should place your spray bar, find out what type of aquarium you have. After finding out what type of tank you have for your pet fishes, decide where to place the spray bar. Here are a few things to consider when choosing the right place for the spray bar in your aquarium:

Placing it at the Side vs. placing it at the Rear

If you intend to make the water flow inside your tank, we suggest putting the spray bar at the rear of a typical box-shaped tank.
Typical aquariums have a shorter distance from its front to its rear than its distance from its left and right side. As such, putting the spray bar at the rear makes the water move in a circular motion.
However, the longer distance of both the tank’s sides only makes the current’s rotation incomplete.
If you only want to use one bar inside of your tank, the best choice may be to put it in the rear. But the same situation is not applicable with two bars.
With two spray bars, putting it at both front and rear leads to a very fast current because of the short motion distance. This could rattle and harm your fishes if they swim within the flow of the current. Instead, put the two bars on either side to create an ideal current speed inside your aquarium.

Placing it above Water vs. below Surface

The most typical placement of spray bars for many fish lovers is putting them above the surface of the tank’s water.
But if you want to be creative with how you put your spray bar inside your tank, you can put it below water instead.
This setup is best suited for people who add carbon dioxide (CO₂) inside their tank. You can make the water movement inside the tank ideal for your fishes to swim onto by putting it below water.
Aside from the steady and gentle current motion that your fishes could enjoy, it also makes the water’s surface less rough. Because of that, it makes your fishes safe from going up the surface, perfect those who need to do so when being fed.

Spray Bar Angle: upwards vs. across vs. downwards vs. sidewards

Placing your spray bar somewhere is not the only concern you need to consider when setting it up. You also have to consider how you angle how the water sprays inside the tank. There are 3 angles to consider when setting up a spray bar inside your tank: Up, across, and downwards angle. If you want to find out which angle best fits your tank, here are some things you need to consider:

• If it is placed above the aquarium’s surface:
  Let us move this out first: putting it on an upwards angle does not affect the container’s water whatsoever.
  If you want to make the surface of the water move, facing the pressure made by the spray bar sideways is the way to go.
  Meanwhile, pointing it below agitates the water’s surface, which could be too strong for your fish to swim in.
  The ideal angle for the spray bar to face to make a gentle flow is to bounce it to the walls of your tank. This way, the movement spreads evenly inside the tank without agitating both surfaces, so your fishes swim safely inside.

• If it is placed below the aquarium’s water:
  If the angle of the spray bar underwater is upwards, it agitates the surface less than when the bar was placed above and angled sideways. The deeper the spray bar was put, the less agitation it produces at an upwards angle.
  If you decided to mimic the seas and put sand below the tank, do not angle the spray bar down. A downwards stream of water from the spray bar may bring the sand upwards because of pressure. This could lead to filter clogging and could hurt your fishes in the process as they swim inside unclean waters.

What to buy: Nozzles or Spray Bars?

If you are torn on which to buy between two aquarium apparatuses, allow us to guide which of the two you should choose for your tank. The common feature both items have that will help you with your fish habitat is that both items cause artificial movement on the water. These products can also help with your filtration systems because of how it moves the water inside their tanks.

But aside from those similarities, it is easy to point out many differences to help you decide which of the two is the best choice. Nozzles are easy to install and use inside your tanks, cheap, and often connected to canister filters. However, this item is not ideal for pumping oxygen inside the tank and is only compatible with the previous filtration system.

Spray bars improve a lot of the things that nozzles lack but come at a much higher price and are hard to install. As said before in this article, spray bars are compatible with other filters (HOB and power filter, in particular). It also clogs a lot because of the strength of its filtration system.

Ultimately, what should stand out to consumers’ ideas on which to buy between the two lies in their judgment. Research your options before buying a spray bar, and always make sure the safety and satisfaction of your pet come first.