Powerhead??...help pls

[kb726]

can someone tell me what powerhead i will need for a 65gal (tall) tank? and what is the rule of thumb to buying one? oh and im looking getting @ a maxi-jet...thnx!!

 

[fbm]

Depends on what you are going to do with your tank.
Fish only less flow
Reef alot of flow depending on what you want to keep.

 

[kb726]

oh sorry...i should have mentioned fish only.....

 

[1journeyman]

I used to be a big fan of Mag pumps, but I've lost 3 in the past 6 months so I'm going to avoid them from now on. Rio powerheads are also notorious for overheating and dying. Seio, I believe, are made by Rio.
Hope that helps narrow it down.

 

[kb726]

but how do i know what gph would be good for my tank?

 

[f14peter]

I believe the typical standard for a fish-only tank is to shoot for 10x turnover (10 times in GPH the gallons of your tank) so for a 65 g tank, you'd probably want to get at least 650GPH turnover. This number would also include the GPH of any filter pumps, skimmer pump too if you have one . . . maybe (I don't know if your skimmer pump GPH is factored in, but I don't see why not, it is turning water over in your system).
Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to instead of installing one PH to supply the necessary turnover, use two smaller ones so that you have more control over where the water is flowing and it's undoubtedly easier to deal with dead spaces.

 

[kb726]

thanx f14....our tank isnt even set up yet, but we will be getting a ss125 so ill look into the gph of that as well.

 

[fbm]

Depends on where your skimmer sets. If it is hooked to the tank then account for it. If it is in your sump or below your tank don't count it. I would shoot for at least 15 times. Fish like current as well.

 

[kb726]

it will be in the tank...and its 500 gph, i just checked

 

[fbm]

You also got to look at that 500 gph is a very centralized flow, it will not help with circulation in the tank, so I would not count it after further thought.