best size powerhead for 180 reef

[mp32]

Like the title says I have a 180 and it will be a reef tank, I was going to use 2 powerheads one on each side of the tank, question is, should I use more and what size powerhead is best for this set up? Also what are the good brands to use?

 

[casper1875]

I've been looking for the same information and this is what I have so far. 4 -RIO Powerheads total.
2 RIO - 2500
2 RIO - 3100 for the spraybar.
Right now I have an empty 180 gallon.

 

[mp32]

How about Koralia centrifugal 1200 gph, are these good, would 2, 1200 on opposite ends be good enough, or too much, or would I need more?

 

[casper1875]

This is one for those that know. I'm new at this. I started my 75 gallon last August. My son bought me a Powder Brown Tang as a surprise. I knew the 75 would not be large enough. I got a great deal on the 180 and now all I need is money

Maybe a part-time job. I spend a lot of time doing research it should save me a some money and

This is a great place with a lot of very nice people.

 

[mp32]

I am in the same boat as you, I have had this tank for a while now and I am just now able to get around to starting up. I argree with you, this site is great there is a wealth of knowledge here, and a lot of helpful individuals.

 

[travis89]

What do you plan to keep in the tank? I plan to have 3 or 4-Koralia 4's in my 180, but I will have SPS coral which require a lot of flow.

 

[niskyvaulter]

i would recommend 3-4 koralia 3s or something around there. the problem with one big one is it makes a strong current in one place, but leaves dead spots in others where waste develops. what you want is more small phs to make good consistent current

 

[mp32]

I am not sure what i want in the tank but I want to get something to start out with, I will be stocking slowly so it may be a while before I now the full amount I need.

 

[travis89]

I would probably get 3 #3's like the above poster said then, it will create a more random flow then 2 of the bigger ones.

 

[halcyon_diver]

depends on what your keeping as stated, i have lots of LPS and they dont seem to like a ton of flow, the other thing to considder is the arrangement of your overflows, i have 2 center over flows on my 180 and have finally adjusted the power heads and overflows to where im able to get good flow all over the tank. im running 2 Koralia 4's and 2 # 3 and one 1200 maxi jet 1200, i tried 2 maxi jet mods and it blasted the lps.

 

[sly]

I attached a spray bar to my return and have 2 maxijet powerheads and couldn't be happier with it. One of them is a maxijet 600 for surface water agitation and the other is a modified maxijet 1200 at 2100 GPH. I personally would stay away from all RIO pumps. I have one and it doesn't want to start up all the time and is much noisier (and has been ever since it was new).

 

[notafishexpert]

What type of filter are you going to use? I would personaly use two Sea Swirls hooked up to the return of your Refug/wetdry. I would also reccommend not using internal powerheads as a result of voltage stray. Use an external pump on your Refug/wet dry.

 

[veni vidi vici]

I have 4000 gph in my 75 gallon running 2 modded MaxiJets plus my return.It gives me around 53x turnover rate.My SPS are very happy and detritus doesn't stand a chance. I will be picking up my 125 gallon this weekend and most likely will be installing the bigger props with the Maxis plus a closed loop system to maintain at least 50x plus turnover. The amount of flow your going to need is going to be determined by what your going to keep.If money is no object look into Tunze products.

 

[mp32]

I seen a maxijet natural wavemaker system, it has 3 maxijet powerheads and a wavemaker, does anyone know about this? Now this has all 3 Maxijets at the same GPH from 400 to 1200, so you can not buy different GPH rates for you powerheads when they are grouped with this, is that O.K. because from what I have read everyone has different rates for each powerhead in there tanks. Are Maxijets good? I am torn between them and the Koralias what would be better, the Maxijets are cheaper and that is a plus, I want something dependable and works of course.

 

[spiderwoman]

We are putting a Wave2K center wave maker into our 150 and if need be a few PH's.