should i have a powerhead?
- Thread starter richfish
- Start date
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tizzo
Guest
Yes you should have powerheads. Maxi jet gives the most bang for the buck. As far as how many... Are you going reef or is this a fish only tank? It matters because of the amount of water "turnover" you want in your tank. In a reef you want around 20X, you have a 55 gal so that's 1100 gallons per hour (gph) turn over. Remember to include your filter and protein skimmer and anything else that moves water in this equation. And for a fish only 10 to 15X is good. Is this understandable??
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tizzo
Guest
The maxi jet 900's put out 230 gph, so you would want 4 (in a reef) if you have no other means of water movement.
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tizzo
Guest
Kinda sorta yes and no... You don't want to create a whirlpool effect, but you also want moving water to reach every area in your tank. I stole this advice from Beth, but here goes. Drop something that sinks in your tank and if at any time it goes straight down, you need more water flow there.
You need some sort of surface agitation, so if you only have one PH right now, then that's where it should go. If you already have SA covered, then you can pretty much put it anywhere. I have 1 on the left wall bout mid tank, and 2 on the right, 1 high, 1 low. And my filter return shoots straight from the middle of the back and I have another PH on the back wall aiming down.
You need some sort of surface agitation, so if you only have one PH right now, then that's where it should go. If you already have SA covered, then you can pretty much put it anywhere. I have 1 on the left wall bout mid tank, and 2 on the right, 1 high, 1 low. And my filter return shoots straight from the middle of the back and I have another PH on the back wall aiming down.
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tizzo
Guest
A fountain that will cause a lot of salt creep amd in my case, will cause the protective covering on my lights to not be so transparent.
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tizzo
Guest
Originally posted by richfish
i know to plug it in but does it connect to like a pump or something?
Nope, you just stick it to the side of your tank, plug it in and it will suck water in through the bottum and shoot it out of the side. I guess you could say it's a mini pump all on it's own.
floorguy
Member
Originally posted by Tizzo
Yes you should have powerheads. Maxi jet gives the most bang for the buck. As far as how many... Are you going reef or is this a fish only tank? It matters because of the amount of water "turnover" you want in your tank. In a reef you want around 20X, you have a 55 gal so that's 1100 gallons per hour (gph) turn over. Remember to include your filter and protein skimmer and anything else that moves water in this equation. And for a fish only 10 to 15X is good. Is this understandable??
even if the skimmer is attached to a sump, not in the sump or on the tank do you add that still?
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tizzo
Guest
Actually, I do not nesessarily agree. If the skimmer isn't pushing water back into the tank, then don't count it in your over all turn over rate. It helps oxygenate the water , but it doesn't help in the way of current and with corals current is very important. So only count water that's moving in or into your tank.