emmett0122
Reef enthusiast
as i get power heads where should i place them in my tank was told to put 2-450's and 1-1050 ideas?
power heads
- Thread starter emmett0122
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emmett0122
Reef enthusiast
if this helps my tank 48wx12.5dx20h
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
Im running 2 1050 on each end facing eachother. 2 750's alternating on wavemaker(dont get one as they are junk.) If you ran 2 750's facing eachother, you will have enough flow. It is a 4ft tank plenty of flow..
emmett0122
Reef enthusiast
the wave maker is junk?
kbuser92
Breeder
No, wavemakers are great. Get a 1050, put it on one side facing the front glass. 2 750's on the other side, one facing up and one facing a large rock or something to deflect the flow.
MitchReef
reef noobie, since 1986
Wavemakers generally put more physical stress on the pumps....the older Koralia Evolution powerheads were poorly designed and failed on a wavemaker, but they are making them better now so they have a better chance of holding up to a wavemaker....I had so much of a problem that I gave up on using a wavemaker with them....
Now I have 2 X 1050s on one end of the tank and a Vortech MP40 on the other...with the Koralias running continuously and the Vortech on Reef Crest I have absolutely insanely random flow....
Now I have 2 X 1050s on one end of the tank and a Vortech MP40 on the other...with the Koralias running continuously and the Vortech on Reef Crest I have absolutely insanely random flow....
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
Yes, korolia wavemakers are junk. Sorry i didnt put the name in my last post. All they do is turn your powerheads on and off. The motors are not a soft start, full amps on start ups ruin the life of the powerheads. The single powerhead wave makers are good, 250 bucks good. Stay away from korolia wavemaker, bad investment.
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
Sorry, didnt see you post.
emmett0122
Reef enthusiast
ok you have given my 3 different answers on flow so witch one is right?
kbuser92
Breeder
I don't think I did, please reread them. If I did, I'm sorry, probably a typo or wasn't thinking of the right tank. Try that last post you just quoted.
emmett0122
Reef enthusiast
the were on differnet post but 1 a 450 and a 750 another one was 2 450s and a 1050 just want make sure dont want to get the wrong thing
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
2 750's are just fine. I wanna add that vortex to mine and down size the amount of powerheads. 1050's are large, they will take up some good room. It all depends honestly what corals you get. Keep that in mind when purchasing powerheads. Everyone is different, all depending on their reef. Just take the advice and come up with your own hypothesis! Good luck
kbuser92
Breeder
Mario, keep in mind they don't put out flow as advertised. Most deliver 10-25% less, some 50% less.
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
Well, that sounds like false advertisement to me and i havent seen any law suits against any company? I do not know of anyone testing these powerheads, so whats posted on the box is what it is. These are all just numbers and we are all generalizing to give the best info we can, by all means im not always right, but steering on the side of caution and saving money is the idea. Running 3 or 4 powerheads or even 2 huge powerheads drives up operating cost for no more gain.
kbuser92
Breeder
You realize that powerheads run on less than 7w each, right? Thats a matter of cents to a dollar every month.
Feature Article: Experimental Comparison of Measured Flow Output of Aquarium Propeller Pumps — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
Theres many more. And generally speaking, the cheaper it is, the less flow there is.
Feature Article: Experimental Comparison of Measured Flow Output of Aquarium Propeller Pumps — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
Theres many more. And generally speaking, the cheaper it is, the less flow there is.
mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
Well, ive seen the power company in any town use watts as a cost but they do use amps. There was not 1 pump under 12watts listed in your google search. I did see the average being around 18 to 20watts. Nevertheless, who goes out there and does a 20 -30% or even 50% increase in size to accomidate for lack of output? 2 1050's in my tank, now this is personal experience, knocks my tangs all over the place.
kbuser92
Breeder
I never said upsize. Did you also look at the output? 2500-5000 gallons per hour, not 750-1050, dude. And if yours are pushing your tangs, you need to rearrange your setup. You should always have the flow directed at glass or rockwork so it doesn't just blast fish and corals, hence the high recommendations for flow. If it works for you then you're the exception, not the rule of majority. I would venture to say that you have a lot to learn and maybe some reading is in order.
For the record, the Aqueon pumps are as follows:
500 gph is 2.6w
700 gph is 2.8w
900 gph is 6.3w
1250 gph is 7.5w
1650 gph is 8.3w
And most electric companies measure Kilowatt hours. The 1650 gph model would run for 120.5 hours to measure 1 kWh and costs 9 CENTS including all city taxes and crap. So no, it doesn't really cost you any more. I will give you credit that other cities may charge more or less, but those differences are negligable. Besides, I would be more concerned with the cost of my heaters and metal halides that cost that much in 4-6 hours.
For the record, the Aqueon pumps are as follows:
500 gph is 2.6w
700 gph is 2.8w
900 gph is 6.3w
1250 gph is 7.5w
1650 gph is 8.3w
And most electric companies measure Kilowatt hours. The 1650 gph model would run for 120.5 hours to measure 1 kWh and costs 9 CENTS including all city taxes and crap. So no, it doesn't really cost you any more. I will give you credit that other cities may charge more or less, but those differences are negligable. Besides, I would be more concerned with the cost of my heaters and metal halides that cost that much in 4-6 hours.
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mariobrothersleeve
squirrel
Im sorry you are talking about? Its all wavemakers. I thought this was about powerheads. Where do you get a 6000gph powerhead? So not 750 or 1050. So i want 600 times per hour? I must have this wrong
kbuser92
Breeder
I never said anything about a wavemaker. That article I posted was about high volume circulation pumps. You were saying theyre high watts, and for pumps they are. But my point is that he needs more flow than you amy suggestion ed and my reasoning behind it. With my suggestion, he would have ~2500 gph ADVERTISED, but probably ~1500-1800 REAL gph, and 500 (from a "700" gph) would be rippling the surface for gas exchange. Therefore leaving around a 20-25x turnover in the tank itself, being deflected off of rocks and glass to minimize deadspots. Powerhead placement could be brought down to a science if you wanted to maximize efficiency and flow for optimal health, display and growth, but that's too much for most of us to calculate degrees and height, sin and cosin to eliminate deadspots so we resort to a "try this here and that there" mindset to simplify things. Then if youre lucky, it works, but chances are you have to move them and often times add more to get the desired results. That's why we suggest higher than 20x flow out of advertised numbers. You cn get what you want with less than that, but its hard and doesnt simulate natural current strength.
emmett0122
Reef enthusiast
i thank you for all the input. when i say i have 600 too 700 gph flow out of my return i have already down sized it i have a 1000 gph return pump with about 50 gph going to my skimmer my pump rating is as follows 1' 1000 gph 3' 900 gph 5' 800 gph i go up 4' or less to my tank so not counting the skimmer thats 850 take the skimmer out now i have 800 acount for 90's i say 600 to 700 thats flow not velocity so now we start talking science when flow is restricted velocity increases so its going to cause more movement in the tank right now i have to have my return pointed into my rocks or i blast my poor clowns that is why i feel i should count that as flow in my tank
