Systems and methods for nickel plating include providing a tank that retains a plating bath into which a substrate is submerged, and creating a horizontal flow of processing solution in the plating bath to assist in carrying contaminants out of the plating bath. A sparger box may be positioned in the tank to deliver the processing solution into the plating bath in a horizontal direction. The processing solution, which carries the contaminants, may exit the plating bath through a plate member that includes a plurality of orifices and is also positioned in the tank. The orifices may have a variable opening size to help control outflow of the processing solution.