New tank up and running.

What size powerheads would be ideal for my 55? The Seio 2600's are moving the sand, no sand storm but when I got home this afternoon and there was a spot about as big as a $.50 piece that was down to the bare bottom. I had to turn that pump off and move the sand back.

I have heard that you need between 20 and 40 gph X tank size for flow. If this is true, I would need between 1,100 and 2,200 gph. How would be the best way to achieve this?
 
I like Koralias. They can move a lot of water, but their wattage is pretty low and they don't add much heat to a tank.

The amount of flow you need depends on what you want to keep in your tank. Softies or LPS tanks do not need nearly as much flow as SPS dominate tanks.

I like to use multiple powerheads to create random flow, although some experts are beginning to recommend a laminar flow.

Koralia 2 has 600 gph flow rate. I think two of Koralia 2 or Koralia 3 (850 gph) would give an adequate amount of flow in your tank. I think that two Koralia 4 (1200 gph) may be overkill for your tank, at least for now.

I used to have two SEIO 1100 powerheads and a Koralia 4 for my SPS dominated 120. I needed three powerful powerheads to push enough water for densely grown (packed tight) SPS's. When I pulled out some rocks and rearranged my corals to make more room for SPS's, I noticed that I can get by with two pumps rather than 3.

Of course, if I have a Vortech MP40 with a controller, I might just need one. Vortech is coming out with MP20 this summer for a smaller tank.

Tomoko
 
I have a controler for those seio's and 2 1200's i need to part with.(will seperate)you can turn down the flow on the seio's. I think your tank is ready to go with a few adjustments. I see that LR help out alot.
 
Thanks Joey, I am interested in the controller. PM with the details.

I am adding my sump and fuge this weekend and will probably have another small cycle when I add the sand to the fuge. Hopefully it will not be a big cycle. I am also going to do a water change this weekend, about 30g. Maybe this will keep the cycle small.
 
I dont use sand or anything in my fuge. I use cheto with BB and it works well. If you need some cheto ill give you a bit to get started with. ill send you a pm later today
 
Haha I'm not a good person to ask.. I'd keep the 2600s.. Or better yet, get the controller to go with them and just turn them down a little if you must..

My 180 is a mixed reef it has 27x turn over.
My 92 is suppose to be a SPS tank it has 42x Turn over. Both of these tanks main flow comes from Closed loops with Oceans motions on them.. So when you consider that Most of this flow is shooting out of 2-3 outlets at a time. Its alot of flow... I really dont think you can have to much, If its spread out.. The only reason why I dont have more is cause I dont way to increase my Electric bill lol

Will
 
Joey,

I have read that sand and/or LR rubble is needed for pod growth. Is this not true?

Will,

I had to take one of the 2600 out of the tank due to it moving the sandbed around. It moved enough sand to create a $.50 piece size hole to the bare bottom. With both of the powerheads running, it gives me approximately 80X turn over in the tank. Is this to much for softies and LPS? I will probably get the controller depending on how much Joey wants for it, haha :D The good thing about these powerheads is they didn't cost me an arm and a leg.
 
What kind of CUC would be appropriate for this tank. The ones that I see on the internet seem like a lot of critters for a 55, is really necessary to have 40 hermits and 20 snails?
 
Well that will proably be your problem. Your sand. I've got about 55X and 65x turn over in my Frag tanks. Both are 40 Breeders but they both are Bare bottem. Since your tank is a 55 and its only 12" wide the 2600s are probably a little to big. You can turn them down.. But they are HUGE pumps from what I remember so if your going to have to turn them down very much I'd proabably get Smaller pumps. I think anywhere from 20-50 GPH would probably be a good number.. Prop pumps like the Koralias that Tomoko mentioned would give you a very wide spread flow. so you could get more GPH with out the sand storm.. Pumps like the Seio's and Maxi jets have more narrow flow.. So those tend to cause more issue's in smaller tanks..IMO though You would be better off with 2 or 3 small pumps spread out then just one large one..
 
Too much flow to softies or LPS?

Softies actually can cope with a strong flow a little better than an LPS. They will be blown around and look like they are hanging onto rocks for dear life, but they can survive that way for awhile. At worst you may find a new one popping up here and there.

LPS's will probably pull their polys in, but their soft tissues can be torn easily.

Even SPS's can lose their tissues if a strong current is directed on them.

When I moved the position of my Koralia 4 recently, an acropora started losing its tissue on a branch in a week or so. :eek2: I did not pay close enough attention to the current since the acro is not all that close to my Koralia.

The cost of powerheads may not be too high individually compared to Ocean Motions and a strong external pump, but the running cost does add up over time.

I am paying more attention lately to the difference in the electric consumption from both the cost of running a device and a heat issue standpoint. My tanks cannot afford to have another equipment that generates heat since I don't have a chiller, and I can only blame the increase in my electric bill so much on my teenager cranking up the air conditioner :o .

The wattage of SEIO 2600 is 55W whereas that of Koralia 4 is 8.5W. SEIO tends to run a lot hotter than Koralia naturally. Throttling a pump down with a controller reduces its power consumption some...hopefully proportinately... I am seriously considering switching my SEIO 1100 to a Koralia 4.

Tomoko
 
Tunze Nano's are nice to :)

Tomoko, is your Koralias loud? I had to replace one of my Large pumps the other day.. So in the mean time I had a Koralia 3 and a Koralia 4 running in my 92. I was suprised at the hum they made..

Might be something to keep in mind KingRicky if noise is a factor

Will
 
My Koralia 4 is silent. The loudest thing in the room is the HQI ballast. The slight hum of my Mag 12 and a Sedra pump on my ASM skimmer drawn out the sound of other equipment when the light is out.

Tomoko
 
I bought one of the MaxiJet 1200 mods a month or so ago just to try out. It came with a suction cup mount but I never trust those things so I used the MaxiJet supplied clip on the tank rim mount. It came with two propellers; large and small. If you're going to use the large prop you can't hang it on the tank rim. It pulls a vortex that blows bubbles everywhere. With the small prop it attempts to pull a vortex but doesn't get it developed before the wavemaker cycles. It seems to generate a more gentle but wider flow. So far I like it. I'm going to see how reliable it turns out to be and may buy some more in the future.
 
John Newby told me that those commercial Maxjet mod kits are pretty good. They seem to have debugged the thing pretty thoroughly. I recall MTRC had a workshop building one of those DIY mod kit awhile ago and the results sounded pretty pitiful... Sounds like it's well worthwhile to buy the kit if you already have a MJ1200 to fit it.

Tomoko
 
I just got my sump/fuge running. I am getting lots of bubbles from the drain line in the skimmer section. Is this normal?
190330DSCI4377-2.JPG

190330DSCI4375-2.JPG

This stand is really tight with the sump and fuge in it. I could not find a tank that would fit for the fuge so I had to use a 18g Rubbermaid container. I have a couple of pieces of LR in it and will be adding cheato soon.
190330DSCI4378-2.JPG

190330DSCI4384-2.JPG
 
It will take a bit for them to settle down from the skimmer. It will have to break in again. Get a slime coat as they say.
Oh i just picked up a old sump that may work better as a fuge that you can have if you can use it
 
I also dida water change today, used 30g of RO?DI water from Tropical Pet Cove, in Alabaster. Real nice people there, the water is free if you have something to put it in.

My parameters this evening are:
Ammonia-0
Nitrate-10
 
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