Powerheads?

[Angel 0249]

I have a 90gallon reef setup which i just love.

My problem is that i have 4 maxi jet powerheads in there, and they keep blowing out tiny bubbles into the tank.

I have read that micro bubbles are not good for the fish,is this true?

Also i can't seem to position the powerheads right in the tank without causing a tidal-wave over my corals.

I know some like low flow and others like high flow but my corals are getting battered.
I have moved them around on numerous occasions but to no avail.

Do i have to much flow in the tank?

Size of powerheads are...........
1 500w
1 750w
2 1000w

Forgot to mention there are 3 of them on a wavemaker
One is a 1000w and 750w together on one plug.
The second plug has a 1000w powerhead.

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Many thanks.

 

[Grins]

No, there isn't too much flow. You don't want to put a coral directly in the path of the straight jetstream of water that a MJ puts out (a few inches in front of it) but other than that most are just fine in it and some as you've read will thive with it. Any with sweepers are often a good idea to put in lower flow areas of course.

I'd experiement with pointing the powerheads towards one another or towards the front and side glass at angles.

 

[Subliminal]

Also, they shouldn't be letting loose microbubbles unless you're using the air tubing and valves that sometimes come with the powerheads.

If you are using those air tubes, just pull them out and get rid of them.

 

[Angel 0249]

Thanks Grins and Subliminal for the reply.

Will keep experiementing with them until i am 100% happy.


Subliminal my powerheads don't have air tubes or valves on them but are still spitting out bubbles.

 

[Subliminal]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Can you post a pic of your setup?

 

[Reefscape]

Thanks Grins and Subliminal for the reply.

Will keep experiementing with them until i am 100% happy.


Subliminal my powerheads don't have air tubes or valves on them but are still spitting out bubbles.

This can also be caused with trapped air inside the powerhead..try shaking the powerhead inside the tank as if its trapped air, it should get dislodged and released..

Just a suggestion

Niko

 

[gomrjoe]

I agree with everything that has been said here so far. Definitely try pointing the powerheads at the front glass, that disperses the current quite nicely actually and creates an almost random flow across the rest of the tank.

One other trick that is nice if you want to keep the flow high but minimize the direct stream affect is to take a powerhead out, replace with a water pump, like a Saeo for instance and drop it in the back corner of your tank, blowing through your rock formation, this works very well indeed. It seems to create a more natural flow as the pump is pushing water through cracks and crevices all over the place, and it helps reduce dead spots in your tank, perhaps more effectively than the traditional powerhead would. IMO.

 

[noskimmer]

This may sound a little weird, but with these type of power heads you can actually place them on the bottom but upside down at the back. Now because they are now sitting on the bottom behind your rocks etc, you can aim them up or forward through the rocks. If you were to place them directly in the middle back to back and aimed slightly up works quite well.

 

[mrtuskfish]

Thanks Grins and Subliminal for the reply.

Will keep experiementing with them until i am 100% happy.


Subliminal my powerheads don't have air tubes or valves on them but are still spitting out bubbles.

The air has to be coming from somewhere, a PH will not spontaneously draw air from the water and make bubbles. A basic question: I assume the PHs are totally submerged? Maybe in the path of a filter or skimmer return?????