I am looking into upgrading/adding water movement to my reef. I am going toward an SPS dominant with just a few LPS. My tank is a 90 with Mag 5 return pump and 2 Koralia Evo 1400 wavemakers on either side of the tank. My question being for my tank to thrive as SPS dominant should I add a very high flow powerhead (like a Koralia magnum 7 or 8) or would it be better to add maybe 2 more 1400s on the back pointed towards the front?
Water movement suggestions
- Thread starter ALreefer
- Start date
Yes this is correct. I have planned to upgrade to possibly a mag 7 but anymore than that and I would be worried about too much for the overflow to handle. Anyways its not the return flow in which I am looking into upgrading, it is the water movement for coral. Any suggestions?
Alien2100
Member
Well a few questions, and thoughts.
Are you looking to put the Evo's or Magnum's on a wavemaker? I only ask this because if so you have to consider that this changes the water strength and flow.
What I mean is if your using 4 Evo 1400's alone your moving 5600 gph through the tank constantly (which seems like a bit much to me)
However on a wavemaker that cycles two on and two off, the same 4 Evo 1400's put out 2800 gph at a time in a much more random flow, helping to eliminate dead spots. (which I feel would be a better choice, you could even use to magnums the same way if you felt you wanted more)
So if your thinking about using a wavemaker I think that would change things a bit. I'm also assuming this is a normal rectangular tank. And I do feel like upgrading your return pump when you can would be worth it as well. My tank is only a 1" drain, so it's said to be rated at 600 gph. However it will handle more, it may just have more water noise. My Mag 9.5 is putting around 775 to 800 gph into my tank and it drains fine, just has a good amount of water noise. A Mag 5 at a 5" head height is only putting out 250 gph, meaning the tank is only getting turned over 2 1/2 times an hour.
Just my thoughts hopefully others will chime in with there's.
Are you looking to put the Evo's or Magnum's on a wavemaker? I only ask this because if so you have to consider that this changes the water strength and flow.
What I mean is if your using 4 Evo 1400's alone your moving 5600 gph through the tank constantly (which seems like a bit much to me)
However on a wavemaker that cycles two on and two off, the same 4 Evo 1400's put out 2800 gph at a time in a much more random flow, helping to eliminate dead spots. (which I feel would be a better choice, you could even use to magnums the same way if you felt you wanted more)
So if your thinking about using a wavemaker I think that would change things a bit. I'm also assuming this is a normal rectangular tank. And I do feel like upgrading your return pump when you can would be worth it as well. My tank is only a 1" drain, so it's said to be rated at 600 gph. However it will handle more, it may just have more water noise. My Mag 9.5 is putting around 775 to 800 gph into my tank and it drains fine, just has a good amount of water noise. A Mag 5 at a 5" head height is only putting out 250 gph, meaning the tank is only getting turned over 2 1/2 times an hour.
Just my thoughts hopefully others will chime in with there's.
Thanks for the input Alien2100. I did not plan on using a wave maker because the constant clicking noise drives me crazy. That being said I do have a wave maker and could incorporate it if it would be in the best interest of my reef. The reason I was looking into getting a more powerful power head is because the Evo 1400 puts out a good gentle flow, but it doesn't seem to go very far. At the moment I have a power head on each end of the tank and it does a fair job at circulation and I don't think I have any dead spots, but I can tell from the LPS that some areas get very little flow. I have thought to either get two more Evo 1400s and arrange 2 on either end of the tank and 2 on the back glass to make an irregular water flow and hopefully get enough flow to my SPS which are at half tank and up. Or I could put both 1 1400 on the back glass, 1 on one end of the tank and possibly a magnum 7 or 8 on the opposing end. I am unsure of how much flow strength is actually needed. I am thinking that even though 4 1400s will produce 5600 gph, it would still not compare in flow to even a single magnum 7 or 8 in strength. My dilemma is whether actual strength of the flow is crucial for SPS. My efforts are toward producing a thriving SPS dominant with just a few LPS in the lower sections of the tank. The SPS I have currently are growing at a good rate and look healthy but I am afraid that too low of water current may hinder their full potential. Thanks again for help.
Alien2100
Member
I don't think Evos should be clicking when turning on and off, my understanding is they're supposed to be wavemaker safe. However I did hear something about people having problems with them breaking the anti-stop built into the front cover. Hydor is supposed to have some washer they send you to help fix this. Not sure if that's what you mean or not.
And your right Hydors have a very wide flow pattern. And while you can't always feel the current, you can normally still see it's effects on things in the tank. I've never owned the Hydor Magnums or seen one in a tank, so I don't know how strong they are. But I imagine very strong. I will say I'm newer to SPS as well, I'm honestly slowly making to move over myself. My understanding is that most like med to strong water flow, ideally to have food sources in the water passed over there bodies, and keep debris from settling on them. If it were me I'd try the wavemaker if you already have it. And maybe contact Hydor if the Evos are acting up on the wavemaker. Another question do you have any extra Hydors or Maxi-Jets you could hook up on the wavemaker? Just so you can get an idea of what it would do with 4 pumps before buying more.
And your right Hydors have a very wide flow pattern. And while you can't always feel the current, you can normally still see it's effects on things in the tank. I've never owned the Hydor Magnums or seen one in a tank, so I don't know how strong they are. But I imagine very strong. I will say I'm newer to SPS as well, I'm honestly slowly making to move over myself. My understanding is that most like med to strong water flow, ideally to have food sources in the water passed over there bodies, and keep debris from settling on them. If it were me I'd try the wavemaker if you already have it. And maybe contact Hydor if the Evos are acting up on the wavemaker. Another question do you have any extra Hydors or Maxi-Jets you could hook up on the wavemaker? Just so you can get an idea of what it would do with 4 pumps before buying more.
I've got a 90g Reef tank and here's what I have (and it's NOT enough)
1x Mag-18 Return
2x Koralia #4
I want to add MORE and will in the near future. I've got the Return split into 2 outlets each pointing FROM the center of the tank out towards the side glass. Each Koralia is on the 2 sides pointing straight across the tank at each other. With 4 outputs basically pointing towards each other I have a LOT of turbulence and no real "laminar" flow and no dead spots.
Here's how I personally "Classify" flow (no science just my thoughts)
10x - Minimal for Salt Water system good for softies and LPS
20x - 30x low to medium low good for softies and LPS
30x - 40x medium to high flow good for softies and LPS and SPS but need to be careful not too direct onto LPS
40x - 50x High Flow good for SPS
50x - What fish?
1x Mag-18 Return
2x Koralia #4
I want to add MORE and will in the near future. I've got the Return split into 2 outlets each pointing FROM the center of the tank out towards the side glass. Each Koralia is on the 2 sides pointing straight across the tank at each other. With 4 outputs basically pointing towards each other I have a LOT of turbulence and no real "laminar" flow and no dead spots.
Here's how I personally "Classify" flow (no science just my thoughts)
10x - Minimal for Salt Water system good for softies and LPS
20x - 30x low to medium low good for softies and LPS
30x - 40x medium to high flow good for softies and LPS and SPS but need to be careful not too direct onto LPS
40x - 50x High Flow good for SPS
50x - What fish?
According to the Hydor website clicking on startup is normal for that powerhead. It is because of the rubber stopper that prevents it from running backwards, at least according to Hydor. I have decided to add another Evo 1400 and see how I like it, and maybe add another later on. I cleaned my current powerheads recently and really brought them back to life. I never realized just how much flow is lost with a dirty powerhead. Thanks for the input everybody.
Alien2100
Member
Yeah, however I thought the new Evos weren't going to do this. That way people could use them on inexpensive wavemakers without an issue. You were always able to use the older Koralia's on a wavemaker with a soft start feature and the airline mod,(although not recomended, I've seen it work in a number of tanks, mostly lfs) I just thought the new Evos fixed it so you didn't have to do this. Well if you do end up using a wavemaker, I would keep an eye on them in the long run. I read several posting (not on RS) where people talked about the front cover cracking right at the stopper, from the impeller constantly hitting it on start up when they were hooked up to a wavemaker. Most people said hydor sent them a new cover and washer to fix the issue, that's why I mentioned that before.
Other than that yes the pumps will start to drop off in performance from calcium built up, slime built up, or even algae build up. I clean mine about once a month.
Other than that yes the pumps will start to drop off in performance from calcium built up, slime built up, or even algae build up. I clean mine about once a month.
DBrinson
Member
I have come to read with nostalgia these posts where people discuss "pointing" powerheads, returns, etc.
I remember the last time I ever had to point current in my tank, about ten years ago, before my fling with Sea Swirls turned serious, and I settled down.
Till Death do us part!
:zzz:
I remember the last time I ever had to point current in my tank, about ten years ago, before my fling with Sea Swirls turned serious, and I settled down.
Till Death do us part!
:zzz: