powerheads: how important in FOWLR?

fishnet

fishnet

Member
I currently don't have any powerheads in my FOWLR tank. How important is it? Should I? I have 5 fish, 6 hermit crabs, and a snail in a tank with a crushed coral substrate (there is a lot of detritus in it too).
I imagine a powerhead would be a good addition (it never hurts), but is it a needed addition?
 
kdfrosty

kdfrosty

Active Member
You'll want to have good flow throughout the tank to avoid things like problem algaes, etc. For a fish only tank it is recommended that you have at least 10x flow.
for example, if you have a 50g FOWLR tank, you should consider having at least 500 gph flow.
This would be easily accomplished by using two Maxijet 1200 (275gph each) powerheads. You could also use 1 powerhead, and a filter. All of that accounts for flow thoughout the tank.
 
fishnet

fishnet

Member
OK... I should learn to be more specific. It is a 55 gal. I have a HOB filter and a protein skimmer (simple airstone model). I also have some water movement with an airstone, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea (see airstone thread).
I also have some powerheads leftover from a freshwater tank. Can I still use them or should I get ones designed for a saltwater tank? (yeah, I'm new to this -- thanks for helping me.)
 
kistler

kistler

Member
I have 4 Maxijet 1200 and 2 Maxijet 600 in my 55 gal - -
That doesn’t include the Maxijet 1200 on the SeaClone Skimmer or the H.O.T. Magnum Compact filter
Sometimes I wonder if that’s too much, but everyone is happy and has been for almost a year now.
 
kistler

kistler

Member
Originally Posted by fishnet
I also have some powerheads leftover from a freshwater tank. Can I still use them or should I get ones designed for a saltwater tank? (yeah, I'm new to this -- thanks for helping me.)
What kind of powerheads? Some are made just for fresh water and some for both, I put a fresh water pump in my tank and it died in less than 2 months
 
E

exile415

Guest
you can probably use those freshwater PH's. rinse very well. have you ever used copper meds when you had fw ?
 
fishnet

fishnet

Member
No copper meds. OLD powerheads -- I have no idea what brand.
I put a fresh water pump in my tank and it died in less than 2 months
I might be better off just buying new and keeping the other ones for the fresh water tank. At least they work there. I'd hate to destroy a functional powerhead by trying it in saltwater. Thanks.
 
E

exile415

Guest
yeah, how big was your fw tank. if it was like a 10G it probably wouldnt give you too much flow. go with maxi jets
 
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