Powerheads

vicp

vicp

New Member
I have a 55gallon bowfront aga aquarium. I need some information on powerheads. I have a emperor biowheel filter...
1) How many power heads do i need and can someone recommend a manufacturer?? I heard 3 units then i heard 4 units?
2) I was told that this was a bad filter to have. It is a large two chamber emperor filter. Is this true??
 
salty blues

salty blues

Active Member
Originally Posted by Vicp
I have a 55gallon bowfront aga aquarium. I need some information on powerheads. I have a emperor biowheel filter...
1) How many power heads do i need and can someone recommend a manufacturer?? I heard 3 units then i heard 4 units?
2) I was told that this was a bad filter to have. It is a large two chamber emperor filter. Is this true??
Power filters are not necessarily bad. They require proper maintenance like everything does in your system.
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
I would do at least 3 maxi jet 1200s. one on each end, and one in the middle back.
welcome to the boards.
 
yosemite sam

yosemite sam

Active Member
It's not so much the number of powerheads you have, but the amount of flow they produce. This is stated in terms of turnover, where the total amount of flow, in gallons per hour, from all the powerheads/return pumps, etc. is divided by the size of the tank. In your case, 1x turnover would by 55gph, 10x turnover would be 550 gph. Does that make sense? Depending on the types of corals you want to keep, you'll need anywhere from 15x to 40x (or more) turnover. Most softies and LPS corals do best in medium and low flow environments, whereas SPS corals need much more vigorous flow. Most corals also do better when exposed to wave action, which can be created using powerheads hooked up to wavemakers or powerheads that rotate.
As for the hang-on-back filter, I personally like sumps better. If setup properly, they are easy to maintain, and let you add additional components like skimmers and chambers to run carbon or other media without having to put a lot of equipment in the display tank.
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
hob filter isnt bad as long as u chng out the cartridge every 2 weeks. they can also create water movement. i'd go with 2 powerheads in ur situation. i like tunze or koralia.
 
nigerbang

nigerbang

Active Member
Maxi-jets are trash..Not worth the plastic they are made with....Like above look into Vortec's, Koralia's, or Tunze
 
laredo300c

laredo300c

Member
hi welcome to the boards ....when i started i had that biofilter, but like was said earlier, unless you constantly change cartiges, it will actually hurt you instead of benefit you.....i run a reef setup, i have 60lbs of live rock and four maxijets that i am currently in the process of changing for one #3 koralia....if this is not enough flow, i will add maxijets accordingly....koralias are really good , my first skimmer was a seaclone 150 and it served it's purpose for two years without leaks but alot of adjustments, i have ordered a cpr bak pak to replace it, and removed the bio filter about 2 years ago and my tank has been fine since.......a good skimmer , live rock , live sand, and good water flow is what i am going for filtration......good luck
 
nigerbang

nigerbang

Active Member
Oops...I guess I could have said Hi first....Sorry..
I do run Maxi-Jets...(Behind my rockwork) but as for main flow I run 5 Koralia 4's..
 
salty blues

salty blues

Active Member
Originally Posted by NigerBang
Maxi-jets are trash..Not worth the plastic they are made with....Like above look into Vortec's, Koralia's, or Tunze
Is it the price or performance you don't like about MJ's?
 
D

dennis210

Guest
First - Welcome to the boards.
As for your HOB filter. The bio-wheel is very very effective at breaking down ammonia / ammonium to nitrite and then to nitrate. This is the part of the nitrogen cycle call nitrification. If you have live rock and live sand in your system they do the same thing and also do it very very good. So while using the bio-wheel and having live rock and sand in your system you are over producing nitrate which is toxic to inverts / corals. So skip the biowheel.
Run a good skimmer, Also I suggest you run a filter with just carbon (remove the wheels and just run carbon).
Powerheads - as stated earlier - will help increase the turnover rate of your tank. I used maxijets for years, they can, do, and will work. They produce a fairly small jet of water (laminar flow) and if you use a few to push water around it will break up the flow and make it chaotic. I am now using the Hydor Korallia PH and love them. Especially with the magnets to keep them from falling down.
For your total turnover rate shoot for 20x your tank size. All water entering or being moved in the main tank count, so count filters, skimmers, PH's, etc.
 
nigerbang

nigerbang

Active Member
Proformance all the way.. Linear flow that doesn't brodcast more then about 20", could you imagine how many I would need on my 180? 10 maybe 15? Price is decent but you get what you pay for.. Cheap aint good and good aint cheap
 
S

swalchemist

Guest
Best flow, get 5 koralia 4s or one Tunze 6101 on single controller your choice.
Second best choice for a 55 moderate stocked soft coral tank I suggest a Tunze Nano Stream 6055.
Your hang on filter is fine just get more flow and a skimmer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top