450 Gallon tank has questions

[jonas_denver]

Hi all,

I have a 450 tank that I have a few questions. the tank is 8ft x 36T x 24W

tank is 9 months old and we are moving next month so the tank will be moving as well

1. I have a brown algy that is growing on the rocks and sand bed. I have no janitors in the tank, do I need them? I just dont like snails on the acrlic, looks eugly

2. I am using one hydor 8 for movement, is that a enough? If I have 2 going it seems like it is to much.

Thanks,

[sweetrav18]

no where near enough flow

[USC-fan]

What is your return pump size? What do you keep in the tank?

[LoyalConvict]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15377299#post15377299 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sweetrav18
no where near enough flow

agreed, not even close to enough, with a tank that size you should have 4 of the 8's, that would also help keep the algae from growing on you're sand. as far as a clean up crew, I know I cant live without em.

[DamnPepShrimp]

Also that is a 360g tank. I had the same exact dimensions, unfortunately never set it up. I wasn't a fan of the height though.

[jonas_denver]

I have a blueline 100

[jonas_denver]

Here is a video I did of my tank today, as you can see I got one 8 working and the other one is not on as I thought it would be to much flow. You can see the algy on the sand and tank. Should I hook up the 2nd 8? if so, how should I point them?

They have to stay on the overflows as that is the thinest part of the tank for the magnet to hold it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBzeoHg-Sdk

[DamnPepShrimp]

You definitely need a CUC. I would go with a lot of nassarius snails. They mostly stay in the sand and will clean your sandbed up nicely. Also add maybe a bunch of blueleg hermits. I like them because they are small, good at scavenging and are small enough to where they don't knock over frags as often as bigger hermits. Also need more flow and better direction of it too. Its not just how much flow you have, but where it is.

Just for comparision, in my 210g tank, I have about 15,000gph or a 70x turnover rate. In your 360g tank, you have roughly 5,000gph, or a 14x turnover rate. So you definitely need more flow, and where its directed properly is key too, you want to have no deadspots in your tank. Wave makers are great for that, vortechs etc, but they can be pricey.