amount of water flow

[sunryze]

our tank is a 125 gal, we have a cascade 1500 filter with a 24" wand for water to flow back into the tank .it moves water across the surface back to front, is this enough or do i need powerheads , i have 2 , one is installed in tank but i turned it off due to the fish staying clear of that end of the tank ,and thought id await your opinions, :?

 

[lando]

In a 125 I would suggest maybe four powerheads plus your filter for good water movement. Do you know how many gal/hr you are turning over right now? shoot for turning over the entire tank volume 15-20 times and hour. For instance, i have three Maxi-Jet 1200s that pump 295gal/hr plus a Mag Drive 7 return pump from the sump that sumps 700gal/hr. I turn over a total of 1585gal/hr. So I turn over my 72gal tank 22 times an hour.

 

[sunryze]

my filter is a cascade 1500 , says 350gph on the box,the 2 powerheads i have are very old and small says 126 gph , so its off to thelfs ,, any advice on which to buy,,

 

[lando]

any advice on which to buy,,

I love my maxi-jet 1200s. they are very reliable. Start with four and go from there. Buy online and you will save a bundle.
go to www.captivereefs.com for the best price on the web. $20 a peice as opposed to $35 at the LFS.

 

[sunryze]

thanks much

 

[lando]

my pleasure.

 

[cmor1701d]

Is this a FO or a FOWLR set up. LR requires more flow to deal with the dead spaces caused by the LR obstructing the water flow. You want to place the ph's so that you are creating 'chaotic' water movement. Make them point at each other or across each other, etc.

I have 3 MJ-1200's and a couple of hagen 802's in my 125.

 

[sunryze]

it 's a fish only ( plus snail, hermit crabs , starfish , arrow crab and shrimp) tank for now , just has 2 small ( 6-7") peices of live rock lfs gave me and a few fake and bleached coral and barnicle decorations

 

[cmor1701d]

Your cascade 1500 is rated at 350gph but I suspect that would be with nothing in the cannister. Normally I see 10x-20x volume as the desired flow rate. You should be good with a couple of MJ 1200 in there till you add some more obstructions.