Hydor Koralia Water Circulation Pump

[roka64]

Yesterday I did a co0mplete overhaul of my 55G's equipment. I took out everything and cleaned it. I switched out my SEIO 620s with two Koralia 1 400 gph http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=15955&inm=1&N=2004+22788+2035 and so far, they look great and seem to have improved my flow. I got tired of the the SEIOs being so big and bulky and suction cups. I positioned the Hydors at the back of the tank and it has cleared up the congestion on the sides of the tank. They are smaller and look kinda neat. Now I can take some pics, since it is really clean...just have to figure out how the camera works.

 

[tecwzrd]

Cool, can't wait to see the photos They give better flow then the SEIO pumps even though it's rated GPH is lower? Is it more streamlined or still a wide flow?

 

[roka64]

No the flow is the same. THe SEIOs have a great design, especially the way you can direct flow, but they were too big in my 55G (and one of them kept locking up).

Is it more streamlined or still a wide flow?

You know, I didn't even stick my hand in there to check! LOL!
It looks like it is kind inbetween streamline and wide. I do like the magnate and not having to deal with the suction cups, along with the ability to easily redirect flow just by moving it around.
At this point, the jury is still out and I will keep an eye on them, to see how well they work.

 

[two11devan]

pics???

 

[roka64]

Lol, I'll update my gallery this weekend. I have some cleaning to do and aquascaping to do as well.

 

[ken_wied]

I have 1 #4 in my 210 along with a SEIO 1500, and the Koralia keeps stirring up the sand and making a "crater" on my bottom. I have it positioned in the back of the tank on the side, but directed up more than straight across so there is surface aggitation also. What ever I do, I cant get it to stop stirring up the sand. But, they do produce a wide powerful but gentle current.

 

[pinda]

I am thinking about buying Koralias for my 55g but I am unsure if to buy the 1's or the 2's. Can anyone who has used them for while let me know how either work for them?

 

[Agnate80700]

i have hydor 3's and they arent the end-all solution but theyre better than targeted jet-streams as with a regular PH

They work kinda like this.... they shoot out a 'cone' of water, versus a jetsream, and only the cone part of it is flowing fast. Between the edges of the cone (like... the middle of it) there isnt a whole lot of activity. But once you get away from the zone right infront of the pump, it all swirls together and you get a good general pushing of water. If I had to guess, I'd say the weaker the version of the hydor you get, the closer to the pump you'd get that general pushing of water.

Dont get me wrong, I love my hydors I think they do exactly what I need em to. They just need to be placed so you get the most out of em.

For a 55 I think you'd be fine with a 2... they dont push hard. They push a lot. if that makes sense lol (they move a greater volume of water spread out over a larger diameter, versus a regular PH which moves a less or equal amount of volume but in a very concentrated blast)

 

[pinda]

i have hydor 3's and they arent the end-all solution but theyre better than targeted jet-streams as with a regular PH

They work kinda like this.... they shoot out a 'cone' of water, versus a jetsream, and only the cone part of it is flowing fast. Between the edges of the cone (like... the middle of it) there isnt a whole lot of activity. But once you get away from the zone right infront of the pump, it all swirls together and you get a good general pushing of water. If I had to guess, I'd say the weaker the version of the hydor you get, the closer to the pump you'd get that general pushing of water.

Dont get me wrong, I love my hydors I think they do exactly what I need em to. They just need to be placed so you get the most out of em.

For a 55 I think you'd be fine with a 2... they dont push hard. They push a lot. if that makes sense lol (they move a greater volume of water spread out over a larger diameter, versus a regular PH which moves a less or equal amount of volume but in a very concentrated blast)

Thanks for the advice I want to lower my energy consumtion as well as create enough flow for my tank. At this point I dont have any intentions of keeping corals. I will get the 2's as i also like my PHs to keep my detritus suspended so they can be easily filtered.

 

[pinda]

These babies keep my tank so cool.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Dont get me wrong, I love my hydors I think they do exactly what I need em to. They just need to be placed so you get the most out of em.

I just replaced a MaxiJet 400 (100gph) with a Koralia 2 (600gph), and wanted to reiterate Agnate80700's point... the pumps are great, but don't expect to place them exactly where your old ph is that you're replacing. You'll need to rethink your placement for good current.

With the larger flow, I was able to move the Koralia onto the back wall (and hidden behind a rock) of the tank, and bounce the current off the side and then again off the front - kind of a double-bank shot. With the smaller MaxiJet I replaced, I had it on the side wall to start with. The end result was that I got a tad bit more current, but more dispersed... and was able to hide the ph behind a rock.

When looking at the gph ratings of the Koralia's, don't get fooled. I really had to trust the guy at my LFS that the 600gph Koralia wasn't as fierce as I was thinking, especially since I was looking at swapping it for a 100gph ph. Glad I listened to him because as Agnate mentioned, the flow is so much more dispersed, you can't really compare the gph figures of these new pumps with the more directed flow of the MaxiJets. A more useful figure that ph manufacturers should give us is the water velocity at a point a couple inches in front of the output. That's really the number we're all interested in.

 

[pinda]

I agree with you Kurt. I was a bit concerned at first that they didn't seem very powerful, but I can finally see detritus floating in the water column instead of sinking straight down. These also allow me to easily change the flow patterns in my tank. The only problem I have is that one of them the spindle slips ocassionally and this causes the flow to stop. This only happens when there is a loss of current.

 

[chase33]

I've had my 4's for months now and have been very happy with them. The only problems is as someone mentioned above. I have trouble positioning them so they don't create a large crater in my sand. Have not been able to do so but the sand isn't that bad.

 

[gheitman]

I was considering one of these for my 29 gallon tank but was afraid that the flow rate was too high (especially since I am using sand). I ended up getting a Maxi-Jet PH 600 instead. Otherwise I've heard nothing but good things about the Koralias.

 

[dianeww]

I have a 75 gallon, and I recently replaced my old maxi-jets with 4 hydor koralia 1's. I have two in the back left upper corner and two in the back right upper corner, one aimed up and one aimed down forward in each corner.

The flow is strong yet dispersed, and my sand has never been kept cleaner. When I think of it, I pull two of them out front overnight ( they move so easily with the magnets) and shoot them directly across the front of the tank. So my front sand is also really cleaned and slightly stirred. I haven't had the problems some here have had with craters. I keep them high in the tank, maybe that's the difference.