power head

[aysnow]

i just bought 2 power heads rated at 425 gph i was just wondering where is the best placement for these. should they be up high in the tank or in the middle. also which way should i face each of them.?

thanks Brad

[catch1]

Well, how big is your tank? I prefer to put one in each corner (mid to high level but aimed downwards), pointing toward the center of the tank.

[Reverend Reefer]

it all depends on what you have in your tank and the size of your tank.

for example, alot of SPS keeper like lots of flow since that's what sps corals like. alot of lps corals don't like powerheads being blown right on to them, while some lps do. if you have a sump with a return, that will also affect flow. also if you have alot of gas exchange, then you're fine pointing them anywhere, if you want ore gas exchange, you point them upwards to increase oxygenation. if your rockwork in your display impedes alot of flow, you might want to point them into the dead areas in your tank so you reduce detritus build up in those areas.

i've found that in the first year, i had to move my powerheads around depending on what corals i got, how they reacted to the flow, and go from there. i also wanted this or that new prized coral to be placed here or there, and then had to move powerheads around to compensate for what the coral liked and where i wanted it to be seen. my tank is 4 feet long, so that also makes a difference, if you have a cube or a tall tank, you might want them pointed differently than a long shallow tank. and so on and so forth.

so there's no real "rule" for where you put yer powerheads and what direction you want to point them. you want good random flow generally, although depending on your tank inhabitants, that rule might also not apply. some people have wavemakers and or surges that also affect how you want yer powerheads to point, or even to not have powerheads at all. also, some people have fine sand, corase substrate, or even no sand at all (barebottom). this will also affect powerhead placement, since some people with fine sand don't want it blowing around, while others have no sand and have no problems pointing their powerheads downwards to reduce detritus build up along the bottom.

sorry if that's confusing.

[aysnow]

haha that was alot to take in at once but i think i understand what your saying. thanks for the help.