[Marine1]

Hi all. I was wondering if someone could advise me on where to place powerheads in my 55 gal tank. I realize the goal is to not have any dead spots, but more specifically where would be a good place to put 2 to 4 powerheads. I have live rock mounds/caves on both sides of the tank and the middle is empty like a valley. I currently have 1 powersweep powerhead that rotates, but I decided to order a few nano powerheads from fragglereef.com. They claim to push 200-250 gpm each. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Jeremy0322]

Your best move is to probably put them in the tank at random and get an idea for what they are doing, and then adjust them to do what you need them to do. If you go to Oregonreef.com he has a huge tank and has, i think, the same type of rock setup that you do, just on a larger scale. He has his flow positioned so that it shoots all of the "crap" into the center empty spot, that way it is easier to just siphon up when he is taking water out of the tank. With that being said it may not be a horrible idea to set two on each side of the tank blowing at different angles into the center, and then when you do a water change get all the stuff out of the center when you do it.

[reefnoob1991]

You can either put them in both corners and push them out at a cross angle towards the middle of the glass or point them at each other so the flow is dispersed

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I think you are on the right track by using more than 2 powerheads.It is so much easier to rid a tank of dead spots that way.Be cautious of the wattage with multiple pumps as they can add heat to the tank.

[thelastmucci]

I agree with all aspects of this thread as it relates to the OP...however I do have one question for him/her...your name says "marine1" is that in the nautical sense or are you a former/current devil dog?

[Marine1]

Thanks for all the advice; greatly appreciated!

thelastmucci that is funny you say that. My wife is in the navy and lets just say she has flown on Marine 1 in the past, so I used it as a sort of pun.

[Marine1]

Oh, I almost forgot. I purchased 4 nano powerheads from fragglereef.com 200-250 gph and use 3-6 watts. It is a 55 gal FOWLR. I bought 4 because they were so cheap and I thought I could put them to good use when I eventually upgrade to at least 125 gal someday. Should I utilize all 4 or do you think that will increase the temp?? I was thinking of using just two - 1 on each end like everyone suggested. My UV Sterilizer already heats the water so much so that I don't use a heater. Sometimes I have to use a small fan on the top of the tank to cool the water because it reaches 80+ F.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I personaly would do two things.I would use three of the power heads,and unplug the uv sterlizer.Uv sterlizers are indiscriminate killers they kill good and bad bacteria,pods(free fish food).And are by no means an insurance policy against ich or other disease's.They are only marginally effective within a few hours after cleaning and the bulb could be dead and you not know it.Turn it off and clean it up and check the bulb.Get it ready so if you ever have a problem you can use it.

[e_baer]

IMO UV's should only be used in QT for disease purposes.

[Marine1]

Thanks for the advice Nativevaman. That is a good suggestion. My UV sterilizer has a window on the bottom to see if the bulb is working (You can see the light come through). I think I'll take your advice and unplug it. I had a bad ich outbreak when I first started (many months ago), probably because I had a blue hippo tang, they are so susceptible to ich, I will probably never get a tang again. I couldn't use medicine for the ich because I had a lot of inverts at the time and the UV worked wonders. Now its just a heater lol.

[reefnoob1991]

The UV won't completely rid your tank of ich

[thelastmucci]

Hey Native, the tank I plan on getting has comes standard with I think it's a 6 watt UV sterilzer...I figured I shoudl wait probably until I get my first fish or six months whichever comes first....and I know what all the purists are going to say "Anthony why don't you setup a QT tank" Well I coulddo that however I also have a rather hungry cat and no "second spot" so to speak to put a QT tank...now if I had a fish room that would change things but I live on a 3rd floor apt. and I'm already going to have 39 gallons of water and about 50 lbs LS and another 80 lbs LR...kinda heavy. So no extra weight is a bonus...my question is what is your preferred method (and no smart alex jokes about none at all) to use UV sterlizers.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Anthiny I am sure you can find a spot for a 10 gallon tank somewhere.I have two cats that watch fish all the time.I would use an ozonizer myself because it is not an indiscriminent killer and it will make your water so clear you will think your tank is empty by making the skimming process much more efective.There are some dangers in using it because to much of it can kill critters.however with the use of an orp monitor and a quality ozonizer they have a good reputation.The next problem is there expenxe,they cost around 300$'s maybe more.

[Packer Lakerfan4]

I'd just like to say that hippo tangs are really prone to ich probably just as much as other fish...just depends on if you get a healthy one or not...sounds like you didnt

[Marine1]

Hey, thelastmucci. I wouldn't worry about a fish tank falling through the 3rd floor. If you are worried keep your tank towards the corner of the floor, where the walls meet. Thats supposed to be the strongest foundation point of any building or apartment.

IMHO, the idea of a tank crashing down to the bottom floor is a bit of a wives-tale - it just won't happen. Having too much weight will gradually warp the joists, and hence, the floor and cause long term problems, but I can assure you there will be no collapsing unless you live in a third world country. Water beds, bathtubs, large armoirs - there are lots of equally heavy things people don't even think about.

I know someone who kept a 90 gallon and a 35 gallon on the same wall in the same room on the second floor of a townhouse. No short term issues, but as a rentee he wasn't concerned about long term. Even as a home owner, I wouldn't even blink at a 75 gallon on the second floor. Just my 2 cents.

[thelastmucci]

thanks for the heads up marine 1

[Marine1]

Just wanted to post an update. I received my nano powerheads from fragglereef.com. They work great and are soooooooo small. Gives the fish some more swimming room. I am surprised at the amount of flow that comes out. It puts out as much flow as the powersweep I had at a fraction of the price. At $5 a piece I was a little skeptical, but I decided to take a chance and go for it. I am pleased with the decision.

I took the advice given by you guys and put one at each end and one more in the middle of the tank and now I have movement all over and the fish seem happy! An added bonus is that these powerheads don't produce much heat because all the heat is in the huge plug outside the tank. Thanks for the advice everyone!