powerhead and lfs questions

[lectrik]

I bought a power head and it came with this foam style filter that ataches to the intake, question is do i need to use this? Ive seen on some of pictures on here that the powerheads dont have these on, the guy at the lfs said it used so no debris gets into the impeller so id like ur opinions on this.
Also the lfs has some live fiji rock but it does not look very "live" and I belive its because they use normal flourescent lights, so my question is if I buy this rock and put them under 175 watts will the coraline show up or is there any chance since its been under poor lighting it wont show up ever again?
thx

 

[q]

If you have any type of screen or foam in the tank it will need to be cleaned so that ditritus won't build up and throw off your water quality. So if you can stay on top of cleanig it like once a week then no big deal.
It is a good idea though to have at least something covering the inlet so as to keep fish or similar things from getting sucked in.
DIfferent intensities of light produce different colors of coraline algea. As long as the rock is mature and in a stable tank that is producing a fair amount it should be partially covered in 3 or so months.

 

[lectrik]

what do you use to cover the intake?

 

[djpom1]

Hi, depending on the type of power heads, you should be fine. Just keep the intake clean. As far as the lfs live, most of the lfs keep there rock in unheated water to keep it in a hibernation type state. If they let it go, they would have things growing out of control in there tanks. Good luck
Dennis

 

[djpom1]

I never use anything to cover the intake. Unless you have so much gunk floating in your tank.

 

[jonthefb]

i too never have ran any type of prefilter on my ph's but i also dont have anythign that would get sucked up into it, and furthermore, one of my ph's powers my HOB skimmer, so i would want it to pull in as much gunk as possible so it can be skimmed out.
as for coralline, lightign is not so much the issue as available calcium is in the water colume. get a good calcium/alk test kit and a two part calcium/alk additive and dose that and keep your levels up and you will see coralline under any type of lightign!
good luck
jon

 

[lectrik]

nice info guys, one more thing tho, at the begining when i pour in hte water and the ls is all floating and the tank is clouded would it be ok to use the pre filters till it settles down?

 

[jonthefb]

yeah that would definately be a good idea,as the tiny sand particles can actually damage pumps if too much of the stuff accumulates in the column. i would def. run the prefilter durign the first couple days till the sand settles down. add the water slowly and youll have less of a problem, or add the water first, then rinse the sand in sw, and add it by the cupfull very slowly and you shouldnt have much disturbance!
good luck
jon