power head placement?

[Pheeshes]

so i've got 2 koralia #3s and the return from my mag 5 in the sump are my only flow in the tank (75 Gallon). the overflow box hangs just to the right of center and it is the CPR CS 90. right now we don't have any rocks in there so i just have one koralia on each end so the water is basically circling the tank.

i know the final placement will depend alot on the rocks, but assuming that the rock are a basic setup in the middle of the tank what is the best setup to go with. i was thinking about either putting one in the middle on each with one pointing one straight out at the rocks and the other up and toward the front OR have one on each end of the back glass and one toward the front and level and the other toward the front and up. do either of these setups seem better and am i going to need (would it be good to have) another power head of some size?

also the return from the sump is in the upper left corner and it has one of the nozzles that is flat and wide to spread the flow out.

 

[jb61264]

I believe your Mag 5 is rated at 500gph...how much "lift" from your sump to tour tank does it have (in feet)?...what is your overflow box rated at and how do you have your plumbing from your sump to your return(s) for your tank?

I have a 40 gallon tank with a Rio 2100 which is rated at 690gph at 0 head height...I have about 3 1/2 feet of head height from my sump to my tank and the chart for my Rio says its around 400gph for that.

In my setup, I have 3/4" piping from my sump up to a "T" that splits my return and I also reduce down to 1/2" pipe from the "T" up to the tank...this increases the velocity of flow coming out into my tank. In addition I have a Koralia 2 (I love the profile on the column of water this puts out!) and this is producing excellent flow for my tank.

With your single return I would try putting the return at 45 degrees horizontal and then 45 degrees vertical...then one of the Koralias on the other side of the tank 3/4 of the way down pointed 45 degrees horizontal and then slightly pointed "up" towards the surface...the final Koralia, maybe 3/4 of the way down pointed flush with the back of your tank behind the rock you may have.

Ultimately, you just need to play around and create the best all around circulation. I moved my returns and my Koralia each a couple times before I was happy with the circulation

 

[Pheeshes]

it's probably about 4 feet, it just comes straight out of the sump and over the top of the display. it's 1/2" out of the mag five then I step the tubing size up to 3/4" to attach to the directional u-tube that hangs on the tank. the overflow is a 1" bulk head so that should be around 600 gph, but i have a ball valve on it incase the mag 5 can't keep up.

 

[jb61264]

Not sure I follow you completely...are you saying that from your Mag5 you increase your tubing all the way to the returns in the tank?...if that is the case, you should rethink that strategy. The only reason I have any inkling of knowledge on this is because of "fatman" on this forum. You want to come out of your return pump with a larger diameter pipe and then at some point reduce the diameter before it returns to the tank so that it increases the velocity of the water when it runs into the tank.

I run 3/4" from my return pump up to about the top of my tank stand where I have a "T" for returns to each corner...on each end of the "T" I reduce the diameter of my pipe to 3/8" all the way to my tank...reducing the pipe increases the velocity of the water...here's a must read from "fatman"

https://www.livingreefs.com/forums/...17-reef-plumbing-1-water-return-plumbing.html

 

[Pheeshes]

yeah, i'm just using one of the directional u-tubes from drfostersmith so i didn have to make something to hang on the tank for the return. the threads out of the mag 5 are 1/2 inch so i just took a 1/2 pipe thread valve and a thread to barb fitting and hooked up the 1/2 inch hose then stepped it up to the 3/4 so i could fit onto the u-tube. i'm not too worried about the flow out of the sump. it won't be my main circulation because it's such a small sump. if i need more i would probably just add another power head.

 

[reeffreak]

Either have the Koralias on the side glass facing one another or on the back glass near the ends,facing toward the center of the front glass.In both cases,close enough to the surface to ripple the water surface without causing bubbles.

 

[yote]

I gotta agree with Reef.That will give pretty decent chaotic flow for now.
You'll have to play around with em a bit once you start adding rock to get the flow right for your tank.