turbulent waters

[christyf5]

Hey guys,
So I just got a new maxijet 1200 and I cranked it on in the tank tonight. Well, there is some major turbulence happening in my tank. I was just wondering how much turbulence is produced in your tanks? We are talking corals leaning right over. I don't even need the other crappy Hagen powerheads. I've tried positioning the PH in several different locations but pretty much the same result every time. Is this okay? My poor firefish are really getting a workout. tongue.gif

Christy smile.gif

[Canadian Man]

Hey christy
i would not worry about the corals leaning too much. it seems like when ever you change the current in your tanks drasticaly than you can expect the corals to react a little. keep the ph on and see in a day if they fix them selvs.
Ps My colts do this all the time if one of my PH's move drastically.
smile.gif

[Reefmaster]

which corals christy?
some lps can be damaged by too strong of current.
shane

[DJ88]

Christy,

areful with SPS as well. It will wipe them clean as well.

[Delphinus]

A maxijet 1200? How big is your tank? I thought it was like a 55g but maybe I'm thinking of someone else's tank...

What I don't like about a single powerhead is it will be very difficult to create a non-laminar-flow, ultimately you'll get a nice whirlpool. Personally over a ~50g I think something like two maxijet 750's or maybe 900's at each side of the tank, pointing towards each other. The streams will meet and cause a lot of nice random turbulence.

[christyf5]

I've got the MJ1200 running in a 48gal with two hagen pro3's (which suck BTW tongue.gif ).

The current isn't wreaking havoc on any SPS's. Just a colt and my hammer. I think I have it positioned the best now and the return surge is hitting the corals instead of directly from the PH. Thats the best I can do.

It actually looks better today. When I first started it up there was a little storm of algae bits (surprise surprise) that were getting blown all over the tank. Everything has settled down now but I was kind of worried about the corals.

Do you think this is too much for my tank? Maybe I should have gone with something less powerful. Also I don't have much live rock to break up the current at the moment so the water is basically being powered from one end of the tank, bouncing off the glass at the other and returing to the point of origin. As soon as my bank account bounces back I'll be getting more rock.

Christy smile.gif

[DJ88]

Christy,

One MJ1200 in a 48 isn't much.. lol. I was running five 1200's and a 900 as well as the return from my Mag7. Now that the sea swirl is fixed I am down to only four 1200's. ;) lol

:D

If you were to get your mitts on another have them hit each others flow. It will help create a more turbulent flow.

[ 04 March 2002, 14:15: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

[Jack]

Yeah, I figure with one powerhead you are making the current flow in your tank circular, like a whirl pool. If you had one in each corner blowing at eachother that will probably stop your corals from "blowing over sideways" from the the whirl pool effect.

[pocilipora]

If you get 2 pumps you could put each one on an appliance timer, and set each one to come on every 15min. But make sure there is a time where both pumps are on. I use 4 Hagen 802s with a mag 18 return pump on my 90 gal.

[ 04 March 2002, 16:17: Message edited by: pocilipora ]

[Delphinus]

Nah, it's only too much current when your substrate is in a constant sandstorm that never settles! :D

[canadawest]

Strictly from an efficiency standpoint you might want to consider trading the 1200 for a pair of 900s Christy?

The 900s use less than half the current of the 1200s, and with two of them you get even more flow, but more evenly distributed in your tank for less electricity used!

I much prefer the use of several 900s in my tank (5', 100gal) than a couple 1200s, and I'm saving on the electric bills to boot!

[Seaquest]

Hi Christy

As well as useing Maxi jets power heads, I also use a SeaSwirls rotating water return device. If there is any investment you ever make for your tank, the one I suggest is a Seaswirl, it has greatly improved the circulation on my tank and greats no dead spots and all my corals have shown a degree of loving it.

Cheers

SeaQuest smile.gif

[Seaquest]

All I have to do now is learn how to type so I don't keep making spelling mistakes. :(

Cheers

[Reefmaster]

i guess this just shows there are 101 different ways to achieve the same thing. i really would like to have a couple sea swirls, but for the 500 bones it'll cost it just isn't worth it to me. and i'm not sure my corals are going to do 500 bucks better. until i can afford em, my $3 christmas light blinker does just fine. (this is one of my proudest discoveries - a little plug that is meant to turn non-flashing xmas lights into flashers, works great for a wavemaker, and at 3 bucks price fit me just fine).
shane

[Delphinus]

Oh my. :eek: How fast is the "blinking"? I hope you're not spending too much on your pumps!!!

[Reefmaster]

bout every half second for on and off. only had to replace 3 ph's in the last 6 months!

haha, j/k.
truth is it comes on for about 10 seconds, off for 5. have been using same blinker on the tank for 2.5 yrs and haven't had any problem with ph's yet. have to mention tho the hagens don't like it, sounds like a small airplane that doesn't wanna start. maxijets do fine with it.
shane

[Seaquest]

Hi

Don't feel bad, I used to use the same blinkers on my power heads, and they worked just fine as you stated but they seemed to just stop working after a while.

Cheers smile.gif

[Reefmaster]

seaquest, i don't get it, why would i feel bad??

hmm, maybe cuz i can't afford a seaswirl -- well truth is i have chosen to spend my money on other things cuz i honestly don't believe they are a good investment (not high enough on the list of priorities for me) until i've gotten pretty much everything else i want for the tank.
i understand that they are great - and i would like to have em, but i also want to point out to others in the hobby, newbies or not, that there are cheaper options that work quite well.

[pocilipora]

An occilating fan motor works well instead of sea swirls. For use on a power head.

[Seaquest]

Hi

I'm sure the ocillating fan may work well, but it was not specifically designed to work over open water and may cause an accident if not carefully handled. The SeaSwirll is an enclosed product, as well as other models like it . They have been aproved by usc and csa which provides some sort of recourse.

Cheers smile.gif smile.gif smile.gif smile.gif smile.gif smile.gif

[pocilipora]

Why dont you get some info before shooting down an idea. Who said that the motor was enywhere near the water.I bet those light blinker setups were made fore aquarium use. Think Ill phone up J&L and order up a set!

[ 06 March 2002, 16:20: Message edited by: pocilipora ]