I want a Docile Tank But....... - Page 2 - Aquarium Advice

kizey420 · 06-28-2008, 01:23 AM

Ok so I went to my LFS and picked up 10 more pounds of LR so far, I now have 45 Pounds of LR. I also picked up a Koralia Powerhead 400 GPH. Is that a big enough size? The Protien Skimmer I will pick up next month when I am ready to start adding fish. I think he had said it was a oceanic Euro something or another Protien Skimmer. As for the list of fish I am thinking of, heres as follows: Auriga Butterflyfish; Blue/Green Chromis; Carpenter Flasher Wrasse; Firefish mated pair; Black & White Butterflyfish; Ocellaris Clownfish. Now I am not going to put all of them in there, it is just an idea of the type I am looking into. Any advice would be great! Thanks agiain for all of your advice. Here is the updated pic of my tank so far with the 10 pounds of LR I put in. Oh yeah and my tank is a 55G.

lance · 06-28-2008, 01:31 AM

You need about 3 K1's or 1200 GPH combined. And 1 LB per gallon of LR. Dont use all LR get some base rock , its cheaper and no worry about curing.The base rock will become live after some time.

cmor1701d · 06-28-2008, 02:07 PM

If you have 45 pounds of LR where is it? You said you put 10 pounds in the tank? It looks like you have all 45 pounds in there so I'll assume that was a typo. You still need to double the amount of rock you have in the tank. You can add another 50 pounds or so of base rock and it will become LR during the cycle.

You want 10x - 20x tank capacity in flow or about 550+ gph flow in the tank. You should add 1 more Koralia 1 and have them face each other from opposite sides of the tank to create a chaotic flow in the tank.

Kurt_Nelson · 06-29-2008, 01:13 AM

Personally... I'd take back the Koralia 1 (if possible) and get 2x Koralia 2's and put them at opposite ends of the tank.

The flow rating on the Koralia's is deceiving if you're comparing it to other powerheads. Because the flow is more dispersed, the speed of the water (which is what you're really after) is slower with the same gph rating of say a MaxiJet. For example, I'd say a Koralia 2 is equivalent to a Maxijet 900 even though the flow is something like 4x to 6x more.

lance · 06-29-2008, 04:47 AM

A circular motion is what you want. Facing each other just lowers there ability to circulate and reduces chances of low flow areas.

ccCapt · 06-29-2008, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Personally... I'd take back the Koralia 1 (if possible) and get 2x Koralia 2's and put them at opposite ends of the tank.

I agree 100%. I have 1 Koralia 1 and it is weak. (I'm glad I only paid $10 for it

)

Quote:

A circular motion is what you want. Facing each other just lowers there ability to circulate and reduces chances of low flow areas.

I disagree. You want a random, chaotic flow. Pointing the ph's at each other from opposite sides of the tank will accomplish that.

Kurt_Nelson · 06-29-2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lance

A circular motion is what you want. Facing each other just lowers there ability to circulate and reduces chances of low flow areas.

Circular flow is NOT want you want. You're guaranteed stagnant areas, and areas where debris will accumulate. With that said though... even with powerheads pointing at each other, you will still end up with some circular patterns. Only way around that would be to set up a wavemaker or something along that line.

You can have high and low flow areas with opposing powerheads.

cmor1701d · 06-29-2008, 02:30 PM

If you've been diving on a reef or seen one on TV you know that the water is anything but circular. The flow is come from all directions, which is why you see lps (hammer, frogspawn, galaxy ,etc.) waving in the currents.

lance · 07-01-2008, 08:11 AM

First quote and then link.

Describing the ideal flow

For lack of a better value, aquarists describe the amount of water motion in their reef aquariums in terms of turnover rate. If identical powerheads are placed at opposite ends of an aquarium but one powerhead is facing the center of the aquarium and the other powerhead is facing the aquarium glass, the powerhead which is directed towards the center of the aquarium will undoubtedly produce faster flow speeds and more circulation throughout the aquarium. Although the powerheads both have the same turnover rate their orientation to the main water mass has a great effect on the flow speeds they will produce. Since flow speed is the critical measure for determining the rate of gas exchange, turnover does little to convey how fast a coral will respire and photosynthesize

Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Water Flow is More Important for Corals Than Light, Part V

Quote:

Originally Posted by cccapt

I agree 100%. I have 1 Koralia 1 and it is weak. (I'm glad I only paid $10 for it

)

I disagree. You want a random, chaotic flow. Pointing the ph's at each other from opposite sides of the tank will accomplish that.

Christine22780 · 07-06-2008, 11:54 PM

There are different types of triggers... rom my experience with a Picaso, he decided to eat other fish, and one by one money and pretty fish gone down the drain.... I had to get rid of him..He was so pretty though.. I have a Niger Trigger now and hes with large fish and great, very shy and nice. They DO eat all your crabs, snails, etc.. I havent had any in yrs. b/c I liked the triggers....Now I am setting up another tank b/c of these LARGE fish and crab eating things I bought yrs ago!!

06-28-2008, 02:07 PM	#13
cmor1701d Aquarium Advice Addict Community Mentor Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Belle Mead, NJ Posts: 3,927 Images: 43	If you have 45 pounds of LR where is it? You said you put 10 pounds in the tank? It looks like you have all 45 pounds in there so I'll assume that was a typo. You still need to double the amount of rock you have in the tank. You can add another 50 pounds or so of base rock and it will become LR during the cycle. You want 10x - 20x tank capacity in flow or about 550+ gph flow in the tank. You should add 1 more Koralia 1 and have them face each other from opposite sides of the tank to create a chaotic flow in the tank. __________________ Click here to Vote for Aquarium Advice on AquaRank . Vote EVERY day! Click Here for a list of commonly used acronyms and abbreviations. ____ Cmor

06-29-2008, 02:30 PM	#18
cmor1701d Aquarium Advice Addict Community Mentor Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Belle Mead, NJ Posts: 3,927 Images: 43	If you've been diving on a reef or seen one on TV you know that the water is anything but circular. The flow is come from all directions, which is why you see lps (hammer, frogspawn, galaxy ,etc.) waving in the currents. __________________ Click here to Vote for Aquarium Advice on AquaRank . Vote EVERY day! Click Here for a list of commonly used acronyms and abbreviations. ____ Cmor

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06-28-2008, 01:31 AM	#12
lance Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 205	You need about 3 K1's or 1200 GPH combined. And 1 LB per gallon of LR. Dont use all LR get some base rock , its cheaper and no worry about curing.The base rock will become live after some time.

06-29-2008, 04:47 AM	#15
lance Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 205	A circular motion is what you want. Facing each other just lowers there ability to circulate and reduces chances of low flow areas.

07-06-2008, 11:54 PM	#20
Christine22780 Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: S. Manchester, NH Posts: 97	There are different types of triggers... rom my experience with a Picaso, he decided to eat other fish, and one by one money and pretty fish gone down the drain.... I had to get rid of him..He was so pretty though.. I have a Niger Trigger now and hes with large fish and great, very shy and nice. They DO eat all your crabs, snails, etc.. I havent had any in yrs. b/c I liked the triggers....Now I am setting up another tank b/c of these LARGE fish and crab eating things I bought yrs ago!!