how many powerheads?

[Anonymous]

in my 40g i have only 1 powerhead (Hagen) that pumps up to 270gph. i had a Rio 800 in there as well but it is dying so i took it out. do i need another one? in your experiences, how many should be in a 40g tank for optimum circulation? thanks.

[ February 22, 2002: Message edited by: coralshrimp ]</p>

 

[Anonymous]

guys?

is this question too redundant to warrant a reply?

 

[danmhippo]

Geez, Was our intention that obvious?

I'd go with a total of about 600GPH circulation/water turn-over rate. Also dependent on what you tried to keep, Some are current loving and some aren't.

 

[Paul A. Ifkovits]

Let me see if I can get the ball rolling... What type of corals do you have? What is your return pump? What does the surface water of the tank look like? (should not be nice and smooth, preferred to have some turbulance to aid gas exchange)Any crap piling up in the corners?
I prefer at least two PH's so you can get a nice cross action from both sides. But a good return pump can act to replace one. Hard to give an exact answer...
_________________
ak47 plant

 

[jussmeac]

In my 40 gallon I have a Mag 7 which rates at at 700gph for my waterturnover

I also have two Hagen 402 for circulation on a wavemaker..

HTH
AC

 

[Anonymous]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally post by danmhippo:

Geez, Was our intention that obvious?

<hr></blockquote>

that's what i get for hanging around the sump.

40gal, 4" DSB, 75lbs LR
1 CBS, 1 cleaner shrimp
1 4" feather duster
scooter blenny
sebae clown
anemone crab
sebae anemone
5 hermits
5 snails

no corals at this time (trying to concentrate on my anemone). i had some mushrooms at one time but i gave them to my uncle when i got my anemone.

surface looks good (rolling and wavy, not still). no junk piling anywhere.

i'm mainly concerned for my sebae. i don't want to blow him all over the tank with too much current. but then again, i'm still a novice which is why i'm here.

 

[danmhippo]

You will have to experiment this a bit yourself. I'd say start with 2 Maxijet 1200, Try to create some circulation for the sebae. Work your way up if you need to. I prefer multiple powerheads than a single blaster. This way I can attack multiple angles as necessary.

Good Luck.

 

[SPC]

Coralshrimp, I would have tried to answer but I don't use powerheads

.
Steve

 

[Rich-n-poor]

I have 3 hagen 302's in my 37. I ran it with two for a long time but the corals do better with the increased circulation.

rich
_________________
Honda CHF50P

 

[danmhippo]

Congrat!

You will have to turn off the powerhead when you feed him. You should try different food and see which he prefers. Small bits at a time. I would start with thawed frozen cubes such as prime reef. Later move on and try silversides, clam meat, unshelled shrimp...etc.

Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

thanks, danmhippo!

 

[Fishbreath]

Wow, after reading some of the responses I didn't realize how much water flow reef tanks like to have. A related question for those of us with FOWLR tanks- what kind of water flow do folks recommend? Do fish only tanks benefit from higher water flow rates? I've been running a Magnum 350 canister filter and a HOT protein skimmer on my FOWLR tank for about a year with good results. But I've wondered about tinkering with it and adding a power head.

 

[danmhippo]

Add a small one, or one with throttle control to test out how your fish reacting to is. Usually fishes display more vitality with increased current and counter currents.

That being said, when I converted my reef to Seahorse tank, I end up removing ALL powerheads (6 maxijet 1200's). My horses and alga farm does not appreciate currents too well.

 

[Anonymous]

hey guys,

i added a maxijet 1200 yesterday and put it opposite my hagen 402. it created a nice current. anyway, everyone seemed to enjoy it. however, when i woke up this morning, i noticed my sebae moved from his "settled" spot and just keeps rolling around the tank in the new current. it doesn't look distressed as he is moving very slowly. he'll stop once in a while, settle a bit, and then off he goes again. is he just trying to find a good spot again? how long should i "let this happen" before i do anything (like readjust the airflow angle...)?

 

[Anonymous]

me again. i think he may have found his spot. do anemones like strong current? because the spot he picked is right smack dab in the middle of one. his tentacles are waving all over. he looks neat.