LFS Trying to get me to buy stuff I don't need??

[recoiljpr]

I have a 29 gallon tank, 30 lbs live rock with cpr bakpak skiimer & 1 1200LPH powerhead. The guys at the LFS said that I do NOT have enough circulation in my tank and I need to get 1 more 800 LPH powerhead at least. Now doing the math assuming I am getting at LEAST 1000 LPH out of my current powerhead that would be 264 GPH turnover. Now, considering out of my 29 gallon tank I have close to 60 lbs of rock/sand that leaves me with roughly 21 gallons of water in a 29 gallon tank.

My question is do yall also recomend a second powerhead? Or am I okay with what I have? The money isn't the issue, I just don't want to be creating a mini hurricane in my tank from too much water flow.

 

[Anonymous]

If you don't see much current/movement in your tank, then yeah, but I feel that you probably will be fine with one powerhead.

 

[Jolieve]

That depends on why they told you that you don't have enough circulation. If you are experiencing an algae problem of some kind, such as cyanobacteria, then you definitely need to rethink your flow pattern. That's not so much related to the number of gallons per hour your powerhead can produce, as what direction flow is going in and whether it will keep a certain area moving fast enough that cyanobacteria won't attach.

J.

 

[Anonymous]

Different critters require different levels of flow, it could be that your tank might benefit from additional powerheads. What are you keeping, and as Joli said, are you having some type of algae issue?

 

[recoiljpr]

I have 2 false percs, 1 colony zooanthid, 1 unidentified plant, and a myriad of snails & hermits (30 lbs of live rock, 3 1/2 Substrate). I don't have an algae problem (I don't think) I don't have diatoms everywhere, I have very little hair algae (on 1 rock). My zoo's seem to be growing just fine and my clownfish seem to be happy as well. The only complaint I had is my substrate has some brownish stuff on it. When I blew the substrate with my turkey baster the brown stuff didn't come off the substrate mix of crushed aragonite & garf grunge (Please don't flame me for the grunge, although to be truthful I felt this was the only thing so far i've wasted my money on. The actual rocks look like they have been dyed purple).

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like it's working 'as is'. In this hobby the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is very true.