View Full Version : Which hydor koralia powerhead for a 20tall?
$eaba$$
10-25-2008, 3:10 PM
I am looking to replace my aquaclear powerhead with a hydor koralia powerhead. I was thinking either a nano or a 1; what do you guys think? This tank, atleast imo, cannot be called a reef tank, but I do have some basic corals such as mushrooms, xenia, and am getting a duncan coral tomorrow. I don't want too much flow, but don't want too little either.
Thanks.
Slappy*McFish
10-25-2008, 3:33 PM
1
20 tall, no less than a 2 IMO. A 1 is a joke, hardly does anything. Tried a 1 in a 24G nano and it didn't make one bit of difference, even when directing it right at a frogspawn. Never tried a nano because the 1's were so weak.
From years of playing with koralias now I have come to the conclusion that:
1=10G or less
2=20G or less
3=30G or less (Personally, I had 2 #3s in my 29G and it was still what I would call medium flow). Right now I have 2 #4s and a #3 on the 72G bowfront and even that doesn't seem like a lot of flow to me.
Got to say, I use Seio's and imo the price difference alone over here in Blightey make them times better.
Jmho.
GregAW
10-25-2008, 4:21 PM
20 tall, no less than a 2 IMO. A 1 is a joke, hardly does anything. Tried a 1 in a 24G nano and it didn't make one bit of difference, even when directing it right at a frogspawn. Never tried a nano because the 1's were so weak.
From years of playing with koralias now I have come to the conclusion that:
1=10G or less
2=20G or less
3=30G or less (Personally, I had 2 #3s in my 29G and it was still what I would call medium flow). Right now I have 2 #4s and a #3 on the 72G bowfront and even that doesn't seem like a lot of flow to me.
I've got 4 4's for my 90, think that's enough?
LOL.. ya, I think 4 #4's is more than enough on a 90G.
GregAW
10-25-2008, 4:26 PM
:D Better too much than too little! Now, how about placement?
For some reason there is a huge difference in flow between the 3's and 4's. 1-3 are small increases in flow.. but then you put a 4 in the mix and it seems like it is 2x as strong as a 3, where as a 3 is only 1/2 stronger than a 2.
As for placement.. another thing you will have to play with constantly for the first month of setup. It all depends on how you stack the rocks and place the powerheads. There is no way I could tell anyone where to place powerheads in their tanks because I could never figure that one out myself with my own tank sitting in front of me. It was always "place powerheads, sit down and observe for 5-10 minutes, then readjust.. " this goes on for about a month until you get it just right.
GregAW
10-25-2008, 4:37 PM
Kind of like the aquascaping of the rocks. Trial and error or effect.
Ken_Allen
10-25-2008, 7:48 PM
The Nano sucks, don't get it unless you have like a 3G. Not that one was even suggested though :P
Amphiprion
10-25-2008, 8:05 PM
I agree with a 2. It is difficult to have too much of the right kind of flow.
snailrider
10-26-2008, 12:17 AM
I have a nano in my 29, but no coral, just one fish.
My 20g has a #2 koralia, and I think I could use one more in there maybe a #1 or nano, or any other make for that. When the HOB filter is on, and the skimmer, then I seem to have a pretty decent movement. But just by itself the 2 seems week, or rather not enough aiming power, it's like you really can't get by with one powerhead in any tank and not have dead zones.
Slappy*McFish
10-26-2008, 8:24 PM
I have two #3s on my 75G and it has more than plenty of current.
$eaba$$
10-28-2008, 7:57 PM
well, I ended up getting the koralia 1, because they had only that at petsmart, who does the pricematch. They had it priced as $39.99, but I did a price match, and got it for $20! So far, I like it a lot, and it seems to give enough flow. Maybe later on I'll get another koralia 1 or something, but for now, it seems good. Thanks for the help guys, and sorry I didn't really go with the flow on the koralia 2; I just couldn't pass up the deal... The things is, I also have a small hagen internal filter, which I use as a powerhead, and I took out the foam inside, which is 70 gallons per hour. Also, I have an aquaclear filter, which provides a bit of flow; I think I'm set.
speedykeys
10-30-2008, 4:25 AM
If you are using it as your only source of flow, I would probably go with (2) 1's or (1) 2. In my 24g I use the nano, but I also have a rio 1400 pumping out from the return. Between the 2 my flow is perfect and if I'm not mistaken I think you'd get around the same gph with that.
speedykeys
10-30-2008, 4:27 AM
oops, don't know how I missed your last post before I wrote that but it looks like you've already got it figured out.