Penguin 1140 question

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quixand

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Oct 8, 2006
Messages
152
So as many of you know, my last PH...a simple aquatic something or another died yesterday.

So I bought a 300gph Penguin 1140.

Let me be the first to say, this PH freakin ROCKS!

I think I may have had an issue with my O2 believe it or not with my last one. This thing has a variable control that I can crank up or dial in low. It's stirring up the water something FIERCE! :p

So my question is, I have the PH output angle up toward the surface, and I want to know how much should I turn it up? Again, 30 gallon tank. I want to get corals in there too.

Low setting barely shows on the surface, high setting is blasting bubbles out like an outboard motor! Stirs up the water REAL nice with waves and foam.

How high should I set it at? I have it about midway now, with a nice stream of bubbles shooting out the exhaust port.

Suggestions? I don't want to set it TOO high.
 
you cant turn it up over all the way actually, you want a water turnover rate to be 8-17 (i know about the 8 part anyways, i went up to 17 because a few people here recommended it) times as many gallons you have in the tank.

i have a penguin 330 filter running on my 20 gallon tank if that helps
 
Yeah...doesn't really. How are you supposed to determine what is 8-17 times? Of what?

Your tank gallons?

In that case, 30 x 17 is 510 gph. So even if I turned it full bore it wouldn't be doing 17x my tank size.

Anyone else?
 
I have two SEIO 620s in my tank 55G
620x2=1240/55=22.54
I have 4 SEIO 820 in my 125G
820x2=3280/125=26.24
 
Ok...LOL

So can anyone explain to me the best way to set this thing up for optimal use?
Currently have it on the side wall blowing up at a 45 degree angle at the water. I have it dialed in about halfway and it's aggitating the water ok, not as much as when I had it turned all the way up. But as I said, it's blowing some pretty mean bubbles ATM, and wondering if that's good. Looks like the exhaust of a jet ski.
 
Any chance you can get a pic? I think that would help determine better placement. Really, you just want to have some surface ripple, for gas exchange and not have any dead spots, at the same time. It sounds like you can probably point it at a lesser angle, to avoid the splashing.
 
Roka,

I'm not getting any splashing, there is a nice ripple across the top of the tank, and the water has a nice constant swirl up and around the tank. Though the exhaust water flow has alot of bubbles. Should I tune the PH so that no bubbles are ripping out the exhaust?

Or should it be running that hot expelling bubbles?
 
Bubbles, hmmm, I'm guessing they are constant, right? I don't know why it is spitting out bubbles like that. My phs did when I first turned them on but don't now, unless I take them out of the water. Try turning it off and leave it under water and shake it, there might be air trapped in it some where. Or you could try turning it down or up (output) to see if there is a sweet spot. Sorry I am not much help, I don't own that brand...
 
It seems to me that it is just from the sheer power of the PH. LOL
If I turn it down, it doesn't expell bubbles....but then again I don't get nearly as much movement. It IS new....so perhaps it has air trapped in it. I'll power it down tonight and see what I can do.
 
I also bought me an early xmas gift. Aquac Remora off ebay NIB for 164.00 shipped.

:)

/dances
 
quixand said:
I think I may have had an issue with my O2 believe it or not with my last one. This thing has a variable control that I can crank up or dial in low. It's stirring up the water something FIERCE!...

Low setting barely shows on the surface, high setting is blasting bubbles out like an outboard motor! Stirs up the water REAL nice with waves and foam.

How high should I set it at? I have it about midway now, with a nice stream of bubbles shooting out the exhaust port.

Suggestions? I don't want to set it TOO high.

I've got MaxiJets, but they're a lot like the Penguins. From the looks of the info I'm seeing on the Penguins, the flow isn't variable - it's the venturi aeration valve that's adjustable. I'm assuming you have the little hose attached to the venturi port on the outlet of the powerhead and running to above water level of your tank? If so, the only thing you're going to do by adjusting it is increasing/decreasing the amount of bubbles you're putting into the water stream. And from the instruction sheet I've got on the MaxiJets, the more air you put in, the less actual water flow you get out. It just appears that it's putting out more flow because you can see the bubbles in the flow. Without bubbles, you can't see the flow patterns.

You don't need the added bubbles for a saltwater tank. Personally, I run the Maxijets without the aeration. There should be a little plug that came with your pump that you can put in that hole to plug it up.
 
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