What powerheads should I use?

[Flobajob]

I'm researching for a 60 gallon tank and want to be able to keep just about anything in it. I don't know how much flow I will need within my tank though, and what rating powerheads I would need to get it. Reading the recommendations for keeping certain corals doesn't help much either - what exactly is "moderate flow" :confused: ?
Does anyone have any suggestions for which powerheads to use and how many?
Also, if I was to go for a closed loop system, what rating pump would I need?
Thanks for your help,
Flobajob.

[Flobajob]

Anyone?

[Flobajob]

Please

[Newflavor]

the maxijet powerheads are really good. get the 1200s. I would put 3 or 4 in the tank they are rated at up to 295 gallons per hour I think.

[ChickenCannoneer]

What kind of corals do you want to keep? That will help answer some of the questions.

[Flobajob]

I'd like to be able to keep anything - lps,sps etc.

[Lpabsolute]

i agree max jet 1200's

[vishboy]

The MJ 1200s use to much power and are to loud for the gph they put out. If I were to get MJs, I would get 900s. They may put out less water, but they use less electricity and are really quiet.

If you have the money, you could buy a Tunze that has controlable speed, so you can control how much gph you moves through your tank.

HTH

[Flobajob]

Thanks - do you think there would be any advantage in a closed loop though?

[Flobajob]

Also, if you do the maxijet mod, how much does that improve the output?

[maddyfish]

NO RIO PUMPS

They blow up and leak oil and voltage into the tank.

[Flobajob]

What pump should I use then?

[Serioussnaps]

Ok, first of all, the coral you keep is the most important thing. Do you want to just do a mixed garden reef? If so coral placement is key. Here is a guide. First off, the Maxi Jet 12, you cant hear it at all. The key is if you want alot of flow go with a Tunze with a controller and a MJ to take away dead spots. Maxi Jets 9's or 12's with the hydor deflectors are great but you need a few. Your gonna need alot of RANDOM flow. The thing is do you want a tank littered with powerheads/maxi jets or just one big tunze with maybe a maxi jet placed somewhere. Also,the price is key. Tunze's are pricey and maxi jets are the cheapest unit or the best cheap unit you can get but still perform well. You will have to maneuver the MJ'sto get it right to coral placement. SPSlike alotof flow in GENERAL and some of the other coral you may want like softies dont like too much. So you may want to configure your flow in different areas of the tank. Also, it depends on if you are running a sumpwith a return pump too. Look into SCWD's here. The MJ mod increases the flow significantly and also widens the flow. MJ's have a narrow flow pattern so you need to point them at glass or other MJ's etc... to get the random flowyou want. Finally, you can t go wrong with either. You can look into Seio's but if you want to save money just go maxi jets and if you want better quality go Tunze, which is why i dont really promote Seios too much. A tunze can be used over the years as you upgrade tanks etc.... and a mj will always be handy no matter what, so whatever you do is fine, just do some experimenting. Try MJ's if you dont like them and they dont give what you want then get a Tunze or vice versa.

Have a good one.

[Flobajob]

Thanks for the help. If I'll need to get several maxijets (Tunzes are a little out of my price range) I think it might be better to go with a closed loop - are the mag pumps any good? I'm going to have a sump btw.

[sjm817]

If you go MaxiJet, look at the MJ900s instead of the 1200s. The MJ1200 uses 300% more power for 30% more flow. That is what I measured with a Kill-o-watt meter (21W Vs 7W)

Specs of the two are

MJ1200 = 295GPH 20W
MJ900 = 230 GPH 8.5W

[Flobajob]

OK - someone else suggested the 900s too, so I'll probably go with them if I don't do a closed loop.

BTW, if you were in my position,would you get a closed loop or use powerheads?

[Flobajob]

*bump*

[smleee]

MJ900 FTW.

I have a 60g also. Mag 7 return and 2 - MJ900's. I keep LPS and softies and still think I need a little more flow. In fact 2 more MJ900's sound about right, but I'm not putting 4 power heads in that tank. Hope that gives you an idea.

eee

[reefcapnnick]

I've heard that for all corals, recommended powerhead flow is 10x-15x your display volume. So, for 60g, you'd want 600-900gph.

Personally, I have a 65 and I'll be using two 1200gph seio powerheads.

[smleee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7470100#post7470100 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefcapnnick
I've heard that for all corals, recommended powerhead flow is 10x-15x your display volume.

10x-15x is more for LPS/softies. SPS is completely different than LPS/softies and requires substantially much more flow.

eee

[Flobajob]

What about whether or not I should get a closed loop?

[beaker77]

For SPS I wouldn't go any smaller than two SEIO 1100's. The use 21w and produce 1100gph. Also, mount them Tunze style.

[Serioussnaps]

You definitely want a sump to increase the volume of your tank. Also, you can put heaters, skimmer, carbon and abundance of live rock in there so it is as I would say a diesel *** filter. I run a closed loop with the powerheads. I like the best of both worlds. Mag 5, 7 whatever is fine. Some people dont like the Mags, Ive had a mag 5 on a closed loop for about 2 years now and have never had a problem with it. It always starts back up without problem after turning it off for whatever reason, very reliable. I would suggest a good amount of powerheads and a lower gph rating for the return/closed loop. The reason for this is improved and more efficient skimming, if you run the water through the sump too fast you want skim the proteins out as well. So grab a mag 7 but 5 may be better for skimming particularly if you use an in sump skimmer which is what i recommend. MJ9 are more efficient than 12's if thats of great importance with you, for me its not they wont heat the water much regardless and i dont care about pinching a few bucks a year on power costs. Go to Marine depot if you go with MJ's and look at a product called the hydor flow deflector, it rotates the stream coming out of the MJ so you get circulation in more areas and more random flow. If you want to run an SPS tank you are gonna need alot of MJ's and you wouldnt have an SPS tank youd have a MJ tank. SPS ---high flow---imo mj's wont do unless you have 5 or 6 and all mod'd. For a 60 tank i would suggest about 1800 gph-about 2400 gph, but for softies you may blast them out of the water unless you keep them under rockwork or something , but this goes back to experimentation on placement as i said before. I would highly suggest going tunze or something that gives alot of flow if you want to keep SPS SUCCESSFULLY. Definitley look into the closed loop with a SCWD,but even if you do decide to do this dont ditch the powerheads, go with both. Like isaid you could just run a sump with a drilled overflow(please drill it dont buy some crap overflow) and a nice return pump like a mag 5 or 7 or even higher if you want SPS, but not any higher than a Mag 11.

Let me know if you want any more of my thoughts.

[Serioussnaps]

Do both. dont ditch the powerheads. Or just run a simple sump with return. The whole closed loop thing was a pain in my ***.

[Flobajob]

So if I had a closed loop and one or two powerheads (plus the sump return) that would be enough/plenty?

[dhnguyen]

FWIW... I have a 55g mixed tank (LPS, softies, and SPS) and only have 2 modded MJ400's running for flow. Plenty of flow for my SPS.


D.

[Flobajob]

Won't having lots of LR affect the number of powerheads you need as well?

[Flobajob]

I mean it will obstruct the flow

[dhnguyen]

of course it does but that applies to all pumps and closed loop options as well.

You have to be creative to mount the pumps and/or aim your closed loop return to maximize and randomize the flow pattern as much as possible. Don't just go and aim a pump at a pile of rocks per se.


D.

[NUBIANTANGLOVER]

I also place my vote for the MaxiJets, as they do come in different sizes to suit many needs, are affordable, long lasting and very durable. I learned this not only from RC members, but from experience.

[Serioussnaps]

Get a strong return pump and maxi jets since Tunzes are out of the question. You will be pleased. You will just have to move the mj's around the LR as you said to get the flow in certain spots according to the lr and coral, but thats no biggie and sometimes and advantage of the MJ's because they arent so powerful that there just arent places you cant put them for fear of blowing frags off the rocks.

[Flobajob]

What pump makes would you recommend, both for a sump return and a closed loop? (for say a 60gallon tank with a 20gallon sump)