How necessary are powerheads?

[dexterie]

I'm new to the saltwater hobbie and I just started with a new tank. I have a Red Sea Max Nano.
I see on many pics/videos online that many people have powerheads.
Are they "mandatory"? Should I get one for my tank? When? (while cycling or after?).

Sorry if I ask too many questions, but I'm a bit overwhelmed with so many info and things to read and know.
Thank you for your help.

 

[rich nyc]

I have a redsea 250 with ecotech return pump which gives more than enough flow but I still have two power heads since i have a bunch of sps

 

[dexterie]

I have a redsea 250 with ecotech return pump which gives more than enough flow but I still have two power heads since i have a bunch of sps

Thank you.
Then, I'll wait. I won't have fish nor coral for a long time so...
When I decide what to stock, I'll see if a powerhead is necessary or not.

 

[landlubber]

you NEED powerheads and your tank will not succeed without flow. without something to move the water around the corners will quickly fill with detritus and your water quality will suffer. consider that the entire goal of a saltwater tank is to replicate the ocean.
my advice would be to spend more time learning as mistakes in this hobby are costly.

 

[dexterie]

you NEED powerheads and your tank will not succeed without flow. without something to move the water around the corners will quickly fill with detritus and your water quality will suffer. consider that the entire goal of a saltwater tank is to replicate the ocean.
my advice would be to spend more time learning as mistakes in this hobby are costly.

I see then. But should I add it right away, while cycling or wait? And one should be enough, no? The tank is only 20 gallon/75L. If I install it opposite from the return pump...
(btw..which brand is more silent? Tunze?)

I've been reading and watching videos like crazy.
I have experience with freshwater, but I feel like a noob with this side of the hobby.

 

[Greybeard]

FLOW is mandatory. How much? Depends on what you want to keep. It is quite possible to generate flow without powerheads... Closed loop systems are less popular these days, since powerheads have gotten so much better over the years, but they still work just fine.

 

[landlubber]

I see then. But should I add it right away, while cycling or wait? And one should be enough, no? The tank is only 20 gallon/75L. If I install it opposite from the return pump...
(btw..which brand is more silent? Tunze?)

I've been reading and watching videos like crazy.
I have experience with freshwater, but I feel like a noob with this side of the hobby.

i had 30 years of freshwater experience leading into this and can say, prepare to do almost everything different.
you could probably cycle your tank with just a return pump driving it but the second life enters the equation (fish, coral) you're going to need it. i personally wouldn't even fill water until i had what i needed to sustain life. this hobby requires 5x the financial input of a freshwater system.

 

[dexterie]

I wanted to buy one but then I thought "Why didn't they include one in the *all-in-one* kit?". I thought it would be unnecessary or superfluous.
I'm buying one ASAP..I just don't know what to buy. I saw a cheap one from Tunze (turbelle 6015). How is it? I don't want anything super noisy.

 

[andrewkw]

Before you buy the powerhead I suggest you read a few flow articles and understand why it's important. Additionally think about what you want to keep. Since it's just a small nano tank you can probably get away with one, but you want to get the right one for you. This is why all in ones don't actually come with everything you need. They don't know what you're going to keep in it. If you give 5 people the same tank they could have 5 different flow requirements.

Most small powerheads should be relatively silent. Tunze certainly is a good brand.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Generally, saltwater tanks require a lot of water movement. But, it's not necessarily as cut and dry as saying "you need lots of flow, get lots of powerheads."

In a reef tank, I feel like it's very easy to have too much of the wrong kind of flow, and that it's very difficult to have too much of the right kind of flow. Focus more on the type of water movement and flow patterns you want to create instead of a raw "gallons per hour" number. Study the needs of the livestock you plan to keep. Take into consideration your rockwork and aquascape. Read about the different flow patterns of commercially available pumps. Consider purchasing DC controllable pumps so that you can increase or decrease the flow to fine-tune the flow in your tank.

 

[dexterie]

Alright. I'll wait until I go back to the local store to ask. They're the ones helping me with the stuff I've been buying and they also sell the tank I have...so it might be easier to decide.
Thank you all!

 

[Centerline]

So from the above comments you know that good flow is very important. BUT in a small tank like a 20 you may not need to add powerheads. Personally, in a 20 I would not want them taking up the space or generating heat - but you do what you have to in this hobby. That said, there is a cool little extension for your return pluming called an "educator" that can help you output more condensed directional flow than the retune by itself - this is good as you can bounce the flow off the walls of the tank and get better dispersion. If you find there is not enough water pleasure with the stock return pump it would be simple to upgrade the pump. I'm sure this all sounds like babble so here are some links that might be useful when thinking about this.

BTW, those RedSea Nano tanks are awesome!


http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cpr-threaded-eductor.html

 

[dexterie]

So from the above comments you know that good flow is very important. BUT in a small tank like a 20 you may not need to add powerheads. Personally, in a 20 I would not want them taking up the space or generating heat - but you do what you have to in this hobby. That said, there is a cool little extension for your return pluming called an "educator" that can help you output more condensed directional flow than the retune by itself - this is good as you can bounce the flow off the walls of the tank and get better dispersion. If you find there is not enough water pleasure with the stock return pump it would be simple to upgrade the pump. I'm sure this all sounds like babble so here are some links that might be useful when thinking about this.

BTW, those RedSea Nano tanks are awesome!


http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cpr-threaded-eductor.html

Thank you very much!

And yes, I liked the tank from the moment I saw it.
The pumps are still quite noisy (I take it's because they still need to run for a while/create biofilm) before the noise is more bearable, but I like it very much. Later on, after the cycle and start adding invertebrates, I'll think what else I want to add. I have some ideas, but first things first.

 

[spiraling]

I ran my red sea 170 for several years without a powerhead. It did have the two pumps instead of one, so it might be nice to get a splitter or the thing above, or just redirect it often.

The powerheads are not magical nor will they ensure success. It depends on the coral you are trying to keep. Many softies and LPS prefer lower flow. SPS require higher and changing flow. The flow amount is not only the issue, but the flow direction, or more importantly, the flow change in direction is what many corals need. The rely on the flow to bring nutrients and also to clean them off. having a wave controller or a PH that can be programmed for different flows is better than a cheap one that is fixed. But again, I used a cheap one in my frag tank with great success. I just redirected it a bit each week.

With or without the extra powerhead I still had detritus accumulate. Just get used to blowing it away on a regular basis, or even better, sucking it out at WC.

There are a lot of people in this hobby that say you need this or that. Before you buy things evaluate YOUR tank and see if you think it will help. You absolutely don't NEED it while cycling or getting CUC or fish. You MAY want one with corals, depending on what you get. If you plan SPS dominant then skip the cheap ones because you will need more change in flow.

 

[dexterie]

Ok then. I'll wait a bit longer until I decide who my housemates will be

I know for sure I'll want easy to keep/not too demanding stock. So, based on what I get then, I'll see if there's need for a powerhead.

This forum is great. Even the topic with the lingo/acronyms is so well thought (it's been very helpful to me... as EN isn't my native language, sometimes it gets hard to understand all the jargon).

 

[DebraLV]

I have an 8.5 gallon cube with an Aqueon 10 gallon HOB pump still cycling. I was thinking of getting this powerhead (170 gph) today as Walmart has them for 22 bucks.

Do I need this mini powerhead with the HOB pump for more flow or is my HOB sufficient enough? I don't want to as I wanted as little equipment as possible to not distort the view, but I will. I'll just have 2 damsels, no coral. Thanks..