what do you need
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royal gang
Active Member
umm a pump is a powerhead????? my tank goes downwards and the pump shoots *** lol would that work?
sly
Active Member
You want to add powerheads in addition to your main pump. Powerheads are lesser powered than regular system pumps. This is good in that they won't blow sand all over the place. The purpose of powerheads is to distribute oxygen rich water evenly over the whole tank. This will keep the algae down and will also suspend some micro detrius so that it can go through your skimmer and be removed from the tank.
You want to position your powerheads so that they lightly blow across the bottom and keep SOME turbulence in the tank. Try to find places in the tank that are very still and add a powerhead there to move the water around.
Powerhead flow rates can be added in to your tank's overall turnover rate. Ideally you want your entire tank's volume to cycle though a pump of some kind at a rate of 10-15 times per hour. So on a 55 gallon tank you want at least 550 gallons per hour of pumping when you add them all together. Take this as a bare minimum... Most people go from 15 times and up; especially for reef tanks.
You want to position your powerheads so that they lightly blow across the bottom and keep SOME turbulence in the tank. Try to find places in the tank that are very still and add a powerhead there to move the water around.
Powerhead flow rates can be added in to your tank's overall turnover rate. Ideally you want your entire tank's volume to cycle though a pump of some kind at a rate of 10-15 times per hour. So on a 55 gallon tank you want at least 550 gallons per hour of pumping when you add them all together. Take this as a bare minimum... Most people go from 15 times and up; especially for reef tanks.
1journeyman
Active Member
Just FYI, You'll see "Rio" pumps a lot at your local stores. They are gaining quite a reputation for not lasting long so you might want to avoid them.
1journeyman
Active Member
Start off with Fenner's book. That will help you decide what kind of filtration method and aquarium you want. Then go from there.
michaeltx
Moderator
Quote:
It would be easier if you told us what you have... Then we can start from there.
For the basics you need:
hydrometer
thermometer
ocean salt mix
saltwater test kit with ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH, alkalinity
heater
a filter system
a protein skimmer
powerheads
There are MANY filter system options as well as lighting options
here is a basic list besides LR and LS to the list
Mike
here is a general list of stuff you will need to get started! from there it depends on where you want your tank to go and what your plans are for the tank.
Mike
It would be easier if you told us what you have... Then we can start from there.
For the basics you need:
hydrometer
thermometer
ocean salt mix
saltwater test kit with ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH, alkalinity
heater
a filter system
a protein skimmer
powerheads
There are MANY filter system options as well as lighting options
here is a basic list besides LR and LS to the list
Mike
here is a general list of stuff you will need to get started! from there it depends on where you want your tank to go and what your plans are for the tank.
Mike
royal gang
Active Member
Originally Posted by Sly
You want to add powerheads in addition to your main pump. Powerheads are lesser powered than regular system pumps. This is good in that they won't blow sand all over the place. The purpose of powerheads is to distribute oxygen rich water evenly over the whole tank. This will keep the algae down and will also suspend some micro detrius so that it can go through your skimmer and be removed from the tank.
You want to position your powerheads so that they lightly blow across the bottom and keep SOME turbulence in the tank. Try to find places in the tank that are very still and add a powerhead there to move the water around.
Powerhead flow rates can be added in to your tank's overall turnover rate. Ideally you want your entire tank's volume to cycle though a pump of some kind at a rate of 10-15 times per hour. So on a 55 gallon tank you want at least 550 gallons per hour of pumping when you add them all together. Take this as a bare minimum... Most people go from 15 times and up; especially for reef tanks.
but there is no still calm place in my tank, it's all got flow, maybe not a river flow but it's got flow.
You want to add powerheads in addition to your main pump. Powerheads are lesser powered than regular system pumps. This is good in that they won't blow sand all over the place. The purpose of powerheads is to distribute oxygen rich water evenly over the whole tank. This will keep the algae down and will also suspend some micro detrius so that it can go through your skimmer and be removed from the tank.
You want to position your powerheads so that they lightly blow across the bottom and keep SOME turbulence in the tank. Try to find places in the tank that are very still and add a powerhead there to move the water around.
Powerhead flow rates can be added in to your tank's overall turnover rate. Ideally you want your entire tank's volume to cycle though a pump of some kind at a rate of 10-15 times per hour. So on a 55 gallon tank you want at least 550 gallons per hour of pumping when you add them all together. Take this as a bare minimum... Most people go from 15 times and up; especially for reef tanks.
but there is no still calm place in my tank, it's all got flow, maybe not a river flow but it's got flow.
sly
Active Member
My Iwaki system pump is 9 years old and has NEVER had a problem. It starts up flawlessly, runs completely silent and requires no maintenance.
My MaxiJet powerhead has worked perfectly (and is more powerful than my Rio) for 3 years. Same thing...
I have 2 Rio pumps. One is for my skimmer and the other one is a powerhead. BOTH of them are noisy and don't start sometimes. I have to ocassionally take the Rio powerhead apart to align the parts so that it will spin. Also sometimes I turn off my skimmer to do cleaning and the Rio skimmer pump will not restart. I have to bang it a few times to get it to start. It has ALWAYS been that way. I have never had one fail but they are a nuisance to work with. IMO stay away from Rio if you can. They are cheap for a reason.
Other than everything I've already said, Rio pumps also seem to have far less head pressure than the other pumps. This means that they are only good at their rated flow as long as there is absolutely no resistance on them. My Iwaki pump has a much more linear response to increasing head pressure and therefore actually delivers the flow that they advertise.
My MaxiJet powerhead has worked perfectly (and is more powerful than my Rio) for 3 years. Same thing...
I have 2 Rio pumps. One is for my skimmer and the other one is a powerhead. BOTH of them are noisy and don't start sometimes. I have to ocassionally take the Rio powerhead apart to align the parts so that it will spin. Also sometimes I turn off my skimmer to do cleaning and the Rio skimmer pump will not restart. I have to bang it a few times to get it to start. It has ALWAYS been that way. I have never had one fail but they are a nuisance to work with. IMO stay away from Rio if you can. They are cheap for a reason.
Other than everything I've already said, Rio pumps also seem to have far less head pressure than the other pumps. This means that they are only good at their rated flow as long as there is absolutely no resistance on them. My Iwaki pump has a much more linear response to increasing head pressure and therefore actually delivers the flow that they advertise.
renogaw
Active Member
since we're spending his money 
i'd suggest a refractometer instead of a hydrometer for better accuracy. plus, get test kits for phosphates and calcium as well.
rio;s supposedly are failing within the year, maxijet or mag pumps are the way to go. you're not supposed to have any water standing still at all, so the more ciruclation the better. usually about 10 to 20 x your gallon capacity.
i saw a cool algae clip today that sticks into the water by about 6 inches off the side of the tank, but the little $4 ones that have a clown on them should work fine also for holding algae.
you want a good food. make sure you don't get a cheap food--they all have varying amounts of phosphates (vitamin C) but the less phosphates you put in by feeding, the less algae problems you'll have.
you'll also want to get one of those little food choppers for like $12 and look at the disease forum for how to make your own food.
you'll want to get some garlic extract, or normal garlic.
you may or may not want to get some vitachem (vitamin supplement)
you may need to get Joes Juice, or some other aptaisia killer.
you'll want GOOD power strips. I saw one at the P store for $40 tonight, but it has 8 outlets, can handle up to 1800watts, and has a built in timer for day/night settings built in.
You'll want a nice comfey chair, cause once you have your tank set up, you'll want to just sit in front of it and enjoy your hard work.
i'd suggest a refractometer instead of a hydrometer for better accuracy. plus, get test kits for phosphates and calcium as well.
rio;s supposedly are failing within the year, maxijet or mag pumps are the way to go. you're not supposed to have any water standing still at all, so the more ciruclation the better. usually about 10 to 20 x your gallon capacity.
i saw a cool algae clip today that sticks into the water by about 6 inches off the side of the tank, but the little $4 ones that have a clown on them should work fine also for holding algae.
you want a good food. make sure you don't get a cheap food--they all have varying amounts of phosphates (vitamin C) but the less phosphates you put in by feeding, the less algae problems you'll have.
you'll also want to get one of those little food choppers for like $12 and look at the disease forum for how to make your own food.
you'll want to get some garlic extract, or normal garlic.
you may or may not want to get some vitachem (vitamin supplement)
you may need to get Joes Juice, or some other aptaisia killer.
you'll want GOOD power strips. I saw one at the P store for $40 tonight, but it has 8 outlets, can handle up to 1800watts, and has a built in timer for day/night settings built in.
You'll want a nice comfey chair, cause once you have your tank set up, you'll want to just sit in front of it and enjoy your hard work.
bellanavis
Active Member
Chance, where are you located, you should see if anyone is around you, to help you in person, or to see if anyone has used good stuff.
sly
Active Member
Originally Posted by Sly
I have 2 Rio pumps.
...
I have never had one fail but they are a nuisance to work with.
Correction: I just had my Rio powerhead fail today. It wasn't spinning and so I took it apart to see why and the impeller shaft had snapped. Cheap crap. I will never buy a Rio again.
I have 2 Rio pumps.
...
I have never had one fail but they are a nuisance to work with.
Correction: I just had my Rio powerhead fail today. It wasn't spinning and so I took it apart to see why and the impeller shaft had snapped. Cheap crap. I will never buy a Rio again.
f14peter
Member
Still just getting things going myself, but here's a few not-so-obvious items that I wish I got right off the bat, or had more of . . .
- Buckets, buckets, and more buckets, and of various sizes. I have a 32g Brute trashcan taking in the RO/DI water (Where the floatvalve is puts capacity around 25g) . . . I have a 35g Tuperware-ish bucket curing/storing LR . . . I have a 18g Tuperware-ish bucket that I used to help sort through the LR and will be used to prep waterchange water . . . I have four 5g buckets for mixing, transferring, dipping the LR, etc. Certainly could use a few more.
- Extra powerheads/pumps. Yes, you will have need of pumps and/or powerheads over and above what's in your tank. I have a Rio in my LR curing/storage bucket and a MaxiJet 1200 I use to pump RO/DI water out of its bucket. But I have to take the MJ out and us that to mix saltwater in the smaller buckets so I'm wishing I had a couple more.
- A couple of extra heaters and thermometers. Probably less crucial once the tank is up and running, but right now I'm moving them back and forth so a few more would be handy.
- Vinyl tubing. I have one piece about 8-feet long, but I sure could use some more.
- Stepladder. If your tank is going on a stand, odds are the top will be about 5 feet off the ground. Please avoid standing on a chair and use a honest-to-goodness stepladder (Who's going to take care of your fish if you're flat on your back recovering from a fall?).
Of course, having a few extra heaters, pumps, and so forth hanging around is some nice insurance in case there's a failure in the tank.
- Buckets, buckets, and more buckets, and of various sizes. I have a 32g Brute trashcan taking in the RO/DI water (Where the floatvalve is puts capacity around 25g) . . . I have a 35g Tuperware-ish bucket curing/storing LR . . . I have a 18g Tuperware-ish bucket that I used to help sort through the LR and will be used to prep waterchange water . . . I have four 5g buckets for mixing, transferring, dipping the LR, etc. Certainly could use a few more.
- Extra powerheads/pumps. Yes, you will have need of pumps and/or powerheads over and above what's in your tank. I have a Rio in my LR curing/storage bucket and a MaxiJet 1200 I use to pump RO/DI water out of its bucket. But I have to take the MJ out and us that to mix saltwater in the smaller buckets so I'm wishing I had a couple more.
- A couple of extra heaters and thermometers. Probably less crucial once the tank is up and running, but right now I'm moving them back and forth so a few more would be handy.
- Vinyl tubing. I have one piece about 8-feet long, but I sure could use some more.
- Stepladder. If your tank is going on a stand, odds are the top will be about 5 feet off the ground. Please avoid standing on a chair and use a honest-to-goodness stepladder (Who's going to take care of your fish if you're flat on your back recovering from a fall?).
Of course, having a few extra heaters, pumps, and so forth hanging around is some nice insurance in case there's a failure in the tank.