powerhead ?????

[mike6969n]

hello everyone,
i got my powerheads today and am trying to figure out where to place them in my tank. i got two maxijet 900's if you are looking at my tank which is a 48 x 13 55gal going down the center long ways i have my lr and on the left i put a ph on the 13 in side about 1/4 of the way down and also added a rotating water deflector to it so it kind of turns and blows the water in like a circular pattern. on the right side i put the ph at the bottom in the back of the tank to blow behind my lr. and i also have the return from my wet/dry on the right side pointing down and to the front of my tank to blow over my lr. does anyone have any suggestions on better placement or does this sound ok. not only that but i would just like to say that i really hated putting these in my tank, i know they are neccessary, but they really look ugly in there with my lr. i hope that once i start adding more lr, fish, invertebraes, and coral that they will not stand out as much. does anyone have an idea on how to camoflauge them. p.s. i wasnt sure if i need to put the air flow adjusters on them so i just capped off the airhole and let it blow at full power, is this ok or should i put the adjusters on them, i just thought that that was a little too much in my tank would rather not add the sirhose also.
thanks mike

 

[arkey.d]

It sounds like that you have them placed fine. Your correct with not connecting the air hoses up to them. That would just create a bubble storm in the tank and increase salt creep.
They are a necesity but sometimes you can hide them behind LR. You may want to add sponge prefilters to the bottom of the PHs so no little inverts get sucked up into them.
Dan

 

[jfdjason]

Just a suggestion.....but a "closed loop system" looks alot better than powerheads.

 

[arkey.d]

Originally posted by JFDJason
Just a suggestion.....but a "closed loop system" looks alot better than powerheads.
Doesn't the tank need to be drilled for a "closed loop system"?

 

[mike6969n]

thanks dan,
i will look at getting the sponges today while i am picking up some more lr. btw i went to huntsville yesterday to check out the lfs's there and well i wasn't impressed. one of them didn't even have any lr 2 sell, after i called ahead of time and he said that he had a good selection (he had one tank with lr and coral in it and he said that he had just set it up, so it wasn't ready 2 sell from yet), another one i went to was selling their lr for 10.00 a lb and they didn't even have any good pieces, i didn't even see a touch or corline on them and the tank they were in was just nasty and full of green hair algae, i did find one store that didn't have but 1 piece of lr left, but it was corlimed up really well so i got it, and he sold me my ph's pretty cheap, about 8 dollars less than the store down here and his prices were very reasonable, and the other store i went to will be good to buy coral and fish from, but every piece of lr that had corlime on it they said oh we can't sell that piece it has good corlime on it and we don't know if anything else might be on it, they wouldn't sell me anything that looked like it might have a tagalong on it (hello, i thought that was the point in it being lr it was full of life duh, that is the fun in it finding something on your lr) don't know if i will go back for that reason alone, the guy here at my lfs will sell anything in his tanks and he can order me any fish i want so i think i will just stick with him and the one store in huntsville, because the guy in huntsville also knows a guy that grows coral on the side for extra money and he said that if there is any kind i want to just let him know and i can get a frag of it for really cheap (i like the fact that he will do that instead of trying to make a quick dollar off of me) but i have rambled on enough, thanks for the advise.
later,
mike

 

[arkey.d]

It sounds like you got the run around at that one store, not selling it to you because it might have something on it. Hello! McFly! Knock! Knock! Knock!..... I would definetly stay away from that store.
It's great that you know what your looking for and can tell when your getting the run around. Knowlege is Power! :yes:
And to be offered frags from the other LFS is awsome that's the type of store to buy from! At Least now you know who to buy from and who not to, so that should save you from wasting gas driving to those other places.

 

[jfdjason]

Arkey....
Nope your tank does not have to be drilled to be a "closed loop".....
Here is a picture of the "closed loop" that I am making for my tank...this is not mine, but I will be making this somewhat.

 

[mike6969n]

i was thinking the same thing dan. i wasted a lot of gas and time yesterday, but they just don't know that by making my first experience there a bad one, they lost a good customer, because in my opinion it is starting up these tanks that is so costly and they just lost a newbie (bad way to do business), but i did learn where to go and where not to go in the future, so i guess it was worth it. what is so bad is that i drove 1 1/2 hrs and didn't find anything any better there than i have right here about 15 min from the house. i guess that says a lot for my lfs. i did luck up and find the one store up there that has better prices on equipment, and the coral frags are great, so i guess it was worth it in the long run. btw i am really enjoying my tank and the hobby and i owe a lot of it to your advise. i have been reading some of the other threads on here about people who didn't find this site until it was too late, i am glad that i done a search and found it before i even started up my tank. i am so grateful for all the advise that i have gotten from you and the other pro's on this site. thanks a million for taking the time to help us newbies out we really really really appreciate it.

:joy:

 

[mike6969n]

that looks pretty cool there jason, i like that idea, but i have already got the ph's now i think i will just stick with them this time, but i will definately keep that in mind for my next tank.
thanks,
mike
p.s. that looks like a very small mag drive will you get the gph turnover that you need from that one? just wondering

 

[jfdjason]

I am using a different pump on mine.. It can do 700gph...with the SCWD I think it will actually be 450 to 500 gph. I have tried a couple different pumps with the SCWD and it seems that 600 - 800 gph gives the right amount of "switch" time for the SCWD. Others were too slow and others way to fast.

 

[arkey.d]

Originally posted by JFDJason
Arkey....
Nope your tank does not have to be drilled to be a "closed loop".....
Here is a picture of the "closed loop" that I am making for my tank...this is not mine, but I will be making this somewhat.
I see, it just hangs on the back and the pump pushes the water through. Very Cool.....

 

[funkyman]

Originally posted by mike6969n
i am so grateful for all the advise that i have gotten from you and the other pro's on this site. thanks a million for taking the time to help us newbies out we really really really appreciate it.
AMEN to that brother.

I really dig that closed loop powerhead system. To bad I don't have any room to hang one.

 

[pattycake]

Mike,
Wow, I could'nt believe it when I read your post that you live in Florence. I work in Huntsville and live in Arab. I have a 55gal that I set up last August and still feel like a beginner. You are right about this site. The folks here have been very helpful. I was wondering if you would share some store names. I can tell you that The Aquarium Shop (corner of Hwy 72 and 231) is worthless in fish and supplies. Because of them I delayed my venture to saltwater and just kept freshwater. Then I met a friend thru a friend that has a saltwater tank and she told me about Lucy's Lagoon. Is this one the stores you are referring to? I am just curious. They have helped me somewhat and I have bought everything there. If there is a better/helpful place in the area I sure would love to know.
Thanks,
Patty