Power heads question

S

SaltyDog52

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Sep 13, 2009
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Hi,
Thanks to all here, my tank is progressing nicely!
I do have a question about my powerheads. I have 2 Koralia's in a 29 gal.
How should I direct the water flow?
My lfs says to have one head high up in the tank pointing up, thus creating motion across the top of the tank, and put the other power head lower but facing the live rock.
Things seem to be ok this way except for 2 things.
1. Whatever food is not consumed is sitting on the bottom in one spot. The hermits don't eat it and I usually have to take it out next day.
2. The powerhead that is facing the rock keeps food from going back behind the rock where my Fire Shrimp "lives". He never comes out at all and I am worried he is not getting enough to eat. Maybe that shouldn't be a concern?
How would you set up the powerheads?

Thanks!
 
1. If you are ending up with lots of uneaten food on the bottom that you need to manuall remove, try feeding less food.

2. Proper placement to achieve sufficient circulation is going to vary in every tank based on structure, inhabitants, etc. Its really just a bunch of trial and error to get things placed the way you want to get good flow without blasting creatures or blowing your sand bed around.
 
Thanks

Sploke said:
1. If you are ending up with lots of uneaten food on the bottom that you need to manuall remove, try feeding less food.

2. Proper placement to achieve sufficient circulation is going to vary in every tank based on structure, inhabitants, etc. Its really just a bunch of trial and error to get things placed the way you want to get good flow without blasting creatures or blowing your sand bed around.
Click to expand...

OK...it's hard to judge on the food right now because I only have 2 small clowns and a Fire Shrimp, who sometimes gets to the food, and sometimes he can't because of the water pushing the food around..
Unlike my fresh water tank, these clowns will never touch a speck of food unless it is on the top or floating. Surprised the hermits don't eat it?
It might be beneficial to shut the system down except for the light when feeding? Let the food move around on it's own then maybe my fire shrimp will get to eat once in awhile...wait a few minutes till they are done, then turn the skimmer and heads back on. I don't know - I am new to this...But thanks for the input. I wasn't sure if it was OK to have the sand move around and now I know it isn't a good thing.
 
+1 to trial and error with flow. What size Koralias are these (nanos, K1s?). I understand what your LFS is trying to say but depending on your rock structure you may not be getting flow where you need it. Ideally you want a good circular flow patter that reduces dead spots and does not allow food and detritus to settle. Try and put one PH in the upper corner on the back wall kind of up high. Point this PH at the opposite corner and angled slightly at the water surface. Place the other PH in the opposite corner but instead of sticking it on the back wall, place it on the upper back corner of the side panel. Point this PH slightly downward and towards the opposite (front) corner.

As far as feeding your shrimp (and fish for that matter), go out to the drugstore/pharmacy and get an medicine dropper (not a tiny eye dropper). Get yourself a small cup and ad a little tank water to it and soak your food (pellet, flake, frozen), drain/strain it (draining reduces potential phosphates from your food sources), add some more water to the container and suck up the food in the dropper. Turn OFF your PHs to reduce flow. Place the dropper below the water and slowly squirt food in your tank until its eaten and then add more. Your fire shrimp will literally eat directly from the dropper when you put it close to him. He might be a little skittish of the dropper but just present the dropper full of food to him and squirt out a couple pieces of food in his direction and he will figure it out pretty quick. Mine even reaches in to the dropper and pulls frozen mysis out! This helps reduce overfeeding and gives you the peace of mind that everyone is eating. You can also use the dropper to spot feed corals if you have any. HTH.
 
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Greech
Yes, these are 2 Koralia Nanos rated at 900 flow rate.
OK...with the first PH, do you mean opposite corner as diagonally across, or straight across to the front?
2nd PH - I understand what you mean with the 2nd one.
Nothing will be directed at my rock....is that OK?
Also...FYI - my rock structure is set up with some room between the rock and glass, and it is in sort of a horeshoe shape with some rock on either end coming toward the front of the tank...
 
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Sorry for the delay. I was at work earlier and just had a chance to get back online. Maybe a picture will explain better. The one on the left is on the side panel and pointed slightly towards the front right corner. The one on the right is pointed towrads the left front corner but the flow also bounces off the front glass. HTH

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Keep in mind that Koralias are designed to have a wide flow pattern so just because your PH is not pointed at your rock doesn't mean there is no flow over them. You can see my Duncan coral blowing in the right cemter and neither of my PHs are pointed directly at it. But yes you do want flow on your rocks to keep detritus from collecting. BUT you can also buy a turkey baster and gently blow your rocks off before each water change. I do this every WC and my rocks are always nice a clean. Oh and try the medicine dropper. I think you'll like the results.
 
Thanks Greech!
I had it right.
Things are going better already. No food on bottom, and you can almost see the water flowing in a circular pattern.
All I have left to do is figure out how to get my Fire Shrimp to eat.
I tried shutting down the system while feeding, but the food doesn't float down at all. I hope he is getting nutrients from the Rock. I have had him 2 weeks, so I guess he is eating something?
 
Glad it helped!

Your shrimp probably isn't getting all the food he needs from the rocks alone. He will go after your snails and hermits if he isn't getting enough food. What foods are you feeding your tank? Sounds like flake and/or pellet which are fine but variety is always good. If you are not doing so already do yourself a favor and go get some frozen mysis shrimp. I recommend getting the frozen cube trays. Thaw a 1/2 cube in a small cup of tank water, drain it and then use a small dropper to target feed the shrimp. He will be all over it and your fish will love the shrimp too. If you have pellets you can soak them in water and then place those on the bottom but the mysis shrimp are a real favorite.
 
greech said:
Glad it helped!

Your shrimp probably isn't getting all the food he needs from the rocks alone. He will go after your snails and hermits if he isn't getting enough food. What foods are you feeding your tank? Sounds like flake and/or pellet which are fine but variety is always good. If you are not doing so already do yourself a favor and go get some frozen mysis shrimp. I recommend getting the frozen cube trays. Thaw a 1/2 cube in a small cup of tank water, drain it and then use a small dropper to target feed the shrimp. He will be all over it and your fish will love the shrimp too. If you have pellets you can soak them in water and then place those on the bottom but the mysis shrimp are a real favorite.
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I have Marine flakes and I also use the frozen shrimp in cubes, but not too often. Not sure if it is like freshwater where if you use too much shrimp, it raises nitrates. I am still learning.
I will get that eye dropper today and see how that works.
Thanks!
 
Too much food period will result in poor water quality but don't starve your fish. The eye dropper will help get the food into the water column and target feed so you can have a little more control over the amount of food you put in the tank at a given time and put the food where you want it. For 2 clowns and a fireshrimp, I would use about 1/3-1/2 cube of mysis with a few pellets or flake mixed in for variety.
 
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