Do I need two wave makers?

[albertski]

I have the Waterbox Marine X 60.2 tank. On their website, they recommend getting one but I believe from what I am seeing online people are getting two.

I was thinking of getting the EcoTech Marine VorTech MP10QD. I guess I would prefer it in the back so the cable is not visible as much. Do I need to get two?

 

[Kershaw]

That’s a hard question to answer as there are so many variables. I would get one and add another later if you need it.

 

[ying yang]

Don't need to get 2 but 2 facing each other pushes water towards each other creating more random flow.

Imo good surface agitation to promote good gas exchange and getting more 02 in the tank is very important so on that basis I decided not to get the ecotech mp series as cant angle them to face upwards ( and the massive price they are ) but you can get surface agitation and extra 02 alot of other ways like an oxydator or a return nozzle facing upwards breaking water surface or some kind surface skimmer and the such so then can use power heads like ecotech mp10/ mp40 etc that don't face upwards.

But lots different ways to run a reef tank and be successful and flow in tank would be dictated alot by what corals you plan to keep as some need more flow than others, size and length/ depth/ height of tank will dictate how many power heads also but getting just one amd have it set to random or pulsing mode is often best rather than just fully on at one speed

 

[RocketEngineer]

I agree with one now, one later. As the tank matures it’s normally a good idea to have randomness in the flow. That’s hard to do with only one powerhead.

 

[muzikalmatt]

I agree with one now, one later. As the tank matures it’s normally a good idea to have randomness in the flow. That’s hard to do with only one powerhead.

This right here. As the tank matures and has more corals obstructing the flow you'll want to add another powerhead to create more randomness to the flow patterns in the tank.

In addition, having more points of flow is great for eliminating dead zones. I have a similar sized tank to yours (IM Nuvo 40) and I have three powerheads in it, two Jebao OW-10's opposite each other in wave mode and Nero 3 higher up in the tank to give more flow to the SPS up top.