looking for a little advice

[jayboogie]

I have a 85gal saltwater tank I have a dogface puffer and some hermit crabs. I had other fish but the dog is a bully. I also have about 35 pds of live rock. Im probably not going to do any coarl. But I would like to get an led light. Do I need full spectrum? And how many watts? Any recomendations? I also have some power heads but was wondering if thiers another way to create a current. I don't care for the way they look.

 

[mauler]

If you don't want coral then any led lighting will work. I'd look on eBay for cheap led lights.
There's really no way around powerheads there just part of what it takes to run a saltwater aquarium

 

[snakeblitz33]

Jebao sells variable speed wave generators for cheap. Better than the old maxi jets.

If you want LEDs for just a fish only tank, Marineland reef double brights are just enough to grow coralline.

 

[mauler]

I'm with snake on the jebaos I have a wp25, wp40, and wp60 I love them they produce great flow and don't take up to much space

 

[2014FishKiller]

I like this one, it maybe too strong for your tank, it covers all angles:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OIOPYNC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[jayboogie]

So the color leds wont make the fish better… .. If that's the case I'll just get the led bulbs that fit into my current flourescent fixtures…. Whats the advantage of a wave generators

 

[snakeblitz33]

Variable speed pumps are better at lifting detritus out of the rocks and sandbed to keep the tank cleaner.

 

[jayboogie]

So thanks on light suggestion… .. I'll got a wp25 wave control. I have it set on w2, s2 and the knob at 3/4… . seems ok but ok not sure how to tell when you have proper flow. I was also wondering if anyone has any tricks to remove the white residue tha forms on the top glass on the tank

 

[pegasus]

So thanks on light suggestion… .. I'll got a wp25 wave control. I have it set on w2, s2 and the knob at 3/4… . seems ok but ok not sure how to tell when you have proper flow. I was also wondering if anyone has any tricks to remove the white residue tha forms on the top glass on the tank

It'll be hard to get adequate flow in an 85 gallon tank with a single WP-25, as you're only creating a lateral (one direction) flow. Two or more powerheads on a wavemaker will create random flow, which is much better at keeping detritus from collecting in "dead zones". I received my new pair of RW-8's (WP-25 equivalents, only better) today, and put them in my 40B, which already had a twin set of WP-10's. I have to run the speed on level 2 (of 8) to keep water in the tank. W1 was whitecapping the water and sloshing it over the sides, and anything over speed level 2 on W2 creates whirlpools. A pair of RW-8's and a pair of WP-10's on the second lowest settings is all that tank can stand. I hope the sand will settle by tomorrow... lol!

Edit: You didn't mention twin control, or dual powerheads, so I'm assuming you have a single? If you have duals, then you should be able to crank them up and get adequate flow for your FOWLR.

 

[jayboogie]

No its only single and the controller can't control 2… . I'll have my power head at a fixed speed and will add it to the tank with the wave controller

 

[pegasus]

This is what I have now, which I highly recommend for a smaller tank... and tight budget. The controllers are mounted on the wall behind the netting so the light sensor can detect when the lights go out. I you look closely, you can see a trough in the water to the left of the black strainer. You'll also notice that the controllers are set to W1, flow speed 2. The second picture is one of the wavemakers. It's only 3.1" long, and 2.4" wide. Pretty small footprint for an 800-2000 GPH wavemaker. It's not a Vortech, but I can buy 4 of these for the price of one Ecotech, and still have change. These wavemakers look "similar" to Vortechs... and the controllers communicate wirelessly, also. Me like!!!

 

[jayboogie]

For the mean time I left the wave maker doing its thing. And put in my constant speed power head that I already have. But I am going to do something similar to you and just buy ethier and wp25 or 40 and add it to the tank so that I'll have 2 units

 

[pegasus]

Two units will make a big difference in the health of the tank compared to a single unit. I run 4 in each of my tanks, but that's my personal preference. I just like to see stuff get blown around! LOL! It takes the critters a day or two to adjust to the heavy flow, but they don't seem to mind after that. Eventually, they start to enjoy riding the currents...