What powerhead?

deepcdv

deepcdv

New Member
Well, I finally got my 2 Koralia 3's after putting down the money over a month ago and they run great when they run full time... Unfortunately with my wavemaker (Red Sea Wavemaster Pro) which is supposed to be a "soft starter" the impeller assembly jumped up and down the shaft several times each time the pump engaged and made an awful racket which I assumed would eventually trash the housing and impeller assembly. I took a small o-ring that we use in one of our diving rigs, twisted it into a figure 8 and slid both loops onto the impeller shaft part of the way down so that the impeller assembly couldn't travel far enough to bang around. The o-ring worked for a while but the impeller eventually moved it back down to the end of the shaft and began banging around again so I cut a small piece of the hard plastic aquarium tubing used for airlift undergravel filters (I use them as feeding tubes) and slid it over the impeller shaft with the o-ring at the end for padding. The impeller jump is now very little and its quiet but at times the the impeller engages and spins in reverse not doing much of anything. In the frustrating process of trying to get these things to work right I snapped the ceramic shaft on one of them while retightening the housing (they are thin and break easily... be careful) Of course the LFS doesn't have anything with the same diameter and length to match that one and I don't see anybody selling parts for it on the web. The pump runs fine full time even with the broken shaft but these things put out alot of water and I don't want to continually blast the corals from the same direction. The output along with the fact that they look cool and have a reasonable price are the reasons that I thought they would be "the ticket" with a wavemaker. I just thought that I'd share this little experience with you all and ask those of you using these pumps what you have experienced, particularly anybody using them with a wavemaker. I have to say its a love/hate thing for me right now...
 
azaintcold

azaintcold

Member
I don't have mine on a wavemaker, and that seems to be why I love mine. They are running full time, no extra heat exchange , reasonable price and great output. Couldn't ask for more. But I have heard the before these and a wavemaker don't mix. No one really explained why, but you have done a great job at letting us know what that situation is all about. Sorry about your troubles.
 
deepcdv

deepcdv

New Member
Couldn't tell you anything about the Seio, they seem like good pumps... Thought of getting them myself. The magnet mounts and ball joints on the Koralia's are a plus for them, you can easily move them around and not have to worry about suction cups drying out and the pump falling down. The current is powerful but is widely dispersed so if you mean to direct it around something that you don't want it to hit directly, it takes some work and maybe even moving corals out of the path. If you wish to use a Koralia with a wavemaking device, be prepared to do some modifications to it....
 
kmsrn

kmsrn

Member
I just started a thread entitled "getting shocked". I bought two hydor koralia's 1 month ago and put them on my wavemaker. Now, for the past week or so I am getting a "shock" when I put my hand in the tank. I thought my ph's were defective from the beginning, but after reading this thread I believe I ruined my beloved koralia's by putting them on the wavemaker
 
deepcdv

deepcdv

New Member
What Koralias did you buy? 2's or 3's? Are they the new (post recall) design? Were the impellers/magnets slamming back and forth every time the pump started?. Putting the spacer over the end of that shaft seems to be working as far as limiting the travel (and noise) when the pump engages.
 
joncat24

joncat24

Active Member
I had a koralia #4 and sold it...I still recommend the old maxistream, maxijet mod. I am pushing 2400 gph out of a maxijet with a nice wide flow. I wired in some variable potentiometers from radio shack so I can turn em down at night a little bit.
They are amazing and easy to build. total cost is about $40 per pump with the mod kit and then I put some magnets on them mounted at a 45 angle so I can rotate them where I want to. check em out...you cant beat em IMO
 
kmsrn

kmsrn

Member
I did not know there was a recall on these pumps. I have one #2 and one #3. I just bought them at my lfs recently.
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
I guess I got lucky. My Koralias are working fine, two #3s in my DT and one #2 for mixing my saltwater. I turn them on and off all the time and no problems (knock on wood
). I do not have a wavemaker though, but will keep the above story in mind if I ever decide to get one.
 
bsmith219

bsmith219

Member
i was thinking about getting new power heads and i think im goin to go with the Koralias, what do you guys suggest for a 100 gal as for as which model and how many?
 
deepcdv

deepcdv

New Member
Originally Posted by azfishgal
I guess I got lucky. My Koralias are working fine, two #3s in my DT and one #2 for mixing my saltwater. I turn them on and off all the time and no problems (knock on wood
). I do not have a wavemaker though, but will keep the above story in mind if I ever decide to get one.
I received the email below from Hydor, USA on the use of Koralia's with wavemakers. I'm pretty much out of luck with these pumps so I'm going with modified maxi-jets. Oh well, the magnetic mounts on the Koralias are nice and go for about $36 each so I will reutilize them on the modified MJ's
Email from Hydor:
Unfortunately, the Koralia was not designed for use with a controller of any kind. Pumps for use with controllers require a different motor so the impeller starts in the correct direction every time it is turned on. We do not recommend using the Koralia with a controller, but I know many people that are successfully using the Koralia with the type of controller that only slows the speed of the motor and not just turning it on and off. The Koralia was meant to run all the time.
Because of the many requests we have received, we are coming out with a controller and new pumps sometime later this year.
Please let me know if I can answer any other questions for you.
Thanks,
Bruce Azzarito
Hydor USA
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
Originally Posted by bsmith219
i was thinking about getting new power heads and i think im goin to go with the Koralias, what do you guys suggest for a 100 gal as for as which model and how many?
How long is your tank? My tank is 6' and I have two #3s, one on each side, blowing toward the center glass (towards each other).
 
azfishgal

azfishgal

Active Member
Originally Posted by bsmith219
ya mine is 6' feet. does everything get blown away in your tank?
No, as long as I don't point it downward, otherwise it's a sand storm! :scared: The Koralias have a nice wide flow, so even if you have it blowing straight across, you have water movement down by the sand AND water moving at the top.
I have my phs about 1/3 of the way down from the top.
 
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