wheres the best place to place powerheads?

[jenate20]

I have a 72 gal. bowfront that I would like to grow a few acropora in and am curius about how to create enough random flow. My main pump pumps about 850 gal. an hr. Seems to be a pretty good amount of flow for this tank but am still uncertain thats this is enough flow. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[chrisd1009]

850 isn't enough. I'm not a SIEO guy, but they are a good option for what you need. They aren't quite as harsh as powerheads and have a wider flow pattern. You can put on on each side of the tank pointed at eachother to get good random flow.
If money isn't an issue, go Tunze on a controller.

[fishysteve]

I think the best place for powerheads is in the trash. :lol:
I would look for another alternative. Powerheads are too big and bulky.

[mthedude]

Have you considered a closed loop? Other than that if you're doing SPS you'll want a very rapid, random flow pattern. If you can afford Tunze get a Turbelle pack w/2 pumps and mulitcontroller to get a nice wave pattern with feeding mode, etc. If you're on a budget, consider the MJmod to get around 1600-2000 gph out of a MJ1200, get a couple of those and you'd be good to go.

[RichConley]

closed loops are expensive, and have huge upkeep costs. (IE $20-30/month in electricity)

I'd put a pair of maximods in there.

[chip721]

850 gph may sound like a lot of flow, but in all honesty you'd probably end up with several dead spots in a 72g display. There are many different ways to achieve some stronger and random flow. Power heads are an eyesore - to some. But a few Maxi-Jets on a wavemaker can be fairly effective. There are also SeaSwirls (http://www.sea-swirl.com/) , OceansMotions (http://www.oceansmotions.com/store/?osCsid=bf636cfe541d38537843b4465ccd3a0f), closed loops, Tunze (http://www.tunze.com/) , and others. I think you just have to decide what effectively fits your budget and what's acceptable to you in "your" display. Good luck.

[STEELERFAN747]

I feel if youre going with power heads, place one on each back corner and face them towards the front middle yet slightly upwards, as to avoid surface build-up and keep detritus suspended. (jmo)

[Jim_S]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8426148#post8426148 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichConley
closed loops are expensive, and have huge upkeep costs. (IE $20-30/month in electricity)



Absolutely.

CL's are great if you wanna constantly pay monthly for running one. Also, running a pump large enough to deliver adaquate flow is noisy IMO.

Now, I think CL's look much cleaner in tanks, but the negatives are too great for me.


Jim

[TrojanScott]

I would invest in a couple of Tunze streams. They're fantastic for flow, and use minimal electricity. For a 72, I'd say two 6000's, or even 6100's scaled back a bit, and a multicontroller.

[CaliforniaDreamer]

I have tried all three methods mentioned in the posts and would tend to agree that the best solution is a couple of Tunzi streams. This gives you the most flexibility and they are very reliable. The only down sides are that they are large and difficult to hide, and their intake is such that they can suck in things like anemones. They also need to be removed occasionally for cleaning and de-scaling.

A proper closed loop system really needs to be setup when the tank is set up. Its major advantage is that most, if not all of it can be hidden in the rock work. It can also provide prodigious flow. The input can be large and designed so that sucking in things like anemones can be minimized. It can also be designed so that heat from the pump does not enter the tank (important to those of us living in climates with 110 degree summer days). In order to make the flow more random it can be controlled by a device like an Oceans Motion director. However, once installed a closed loops flexibility is somewhat limited. If the growth of corals requires a major change in flow it is often difficult or impossible to manage with a closed loop.

Using Maxi-Jet power heads with high flow modifications is a good lower cost compromise. They are reasonably sized, use little power, and provide good flow, and can be put on a wave controller to provide random flow. The main problem with them is that they are either on or off (unlike the Tunzi's). They also make noise at startup which some people find irritating. Also you need to be at least a little handy to make the mods. BTW Reef Chili (A Reef Central Sponsor) has kits that take the pain out of finding the right parts.

Kind of a long post, but my $.02 with my limited experience.

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8426673#post8426673 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jimdogg187
Absolutely.

CL's are great if you wanna constantly pay monthly for running one. Also, running a pump large enough to deliver adaquate flow is noisy IMO.

Now, I think CL's look much cleaner in tanks, but the negatives are too great for me.


Jim

Jim, I think that Rio's Polario is going to make a HUGE difference in the aquarium industry, and may even bring the closed loop back to the top. Its basically a stream pump that can be fitted to a closed loop.

(I've been trying to get a maximod to do the same thing for a bit...its tough.)

[Jim_S]

I've seen those Polarios as well Rich. They look very promising. I agree that if they do work out well, they will bring CL's to a new level. :)

BTW, great post California Dreamer!

Cheers,

Jim

[Ursus]

I would go with either tunze or maximod's. I am currently running a closed loop and I have to say I love it, but hate it at the same time. It is kinda noisy and does use a bit of electricity, but is also very very clean looking. If I would have gotten a quieter pump such as a sequence dart, I would probably not mind any electricity cost's involved.

Also, 850 seems like enough now, but wait untill you get that extra 2000 GPH in there... stuff will come flying out of rocks and off the sand bed.

[mthedude]

CL's don't have to be expensive or noisy. Check out mlevs website, he made one using a mag 7 I think, really well made and that pump is quiet. Depending how big your tank is you can pull something like that off w/out drilling your tank.

[Jim_S]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8427399#post8427399 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mthedude
CL's don't have to be expensive or noisy. Check out mlevs website, he made one using a mag 7 I think, really well made and that pump is quiet. Depending how big your tank is you can pull something like that off w/out drilling your tank.

Here are some examples:

mag-7 = 700gph @ 70 watts

SEIO 1500 = 1500 gph @ 34 watts


Sequence Dart = 3600 gph @ 160 watts

Tunze 6100 = 3170 gph @ 45 watts

Jim

[jenate20]

thanks for all who replied , I really appreciate all the helpm, Im gonna do some research and let you know how things turn out, till next time.