Powerhead/return pump/flow questions

[kmwcane]

Good afternoon everyone. As the subject line states, I have several questions and would greatly appreciate your comments and thoughts. Quick background: I have a Red Sea Reefer 250 (65 gallons of total water volume) in the midst of cycling; I have purchased all of the equipment except the powerheads. Since this is my first attempt at a reef tank, I will focus mainly on LPS and soft corals.

1. In calculating the flow rate of the aquarium, do you include the flow of the return pump? I have a Sicce pump that is 660 gph.

2. What is a general range of flow that I should be targeting for my tank considering its size and future coral inhabitants? Should I be looking at 20x turnover per hour?

3. Would a single Vortech MP40 be sufficient for my purposes?

4. I am not looking to break my bank right now, so if a single MP40 is not sufficient, have people had good luck with Hydor powerheads? I would purchase two powerheads along with a Hydor controller in order to randomize the flow.

5. Are there any other recommended lower cost powerheads and controllers that people recommend?

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your responses!

 

[Hemmdog]

Don’t get hydors. Look into gyres or two Mp40’s. You want more than one powerhead for chaotic natural flow. 600 gph return pump also seems low to me, it will not be that strong pumping up from a sump. You should look at a VarioS 4 or something along those lines.

 

[kmwcane]

Don’t get hydors. Look into gyres or two Mp40’s. You want more than one powerhead for chaotic natural flow. 600 gph return pump also seems low to me, it will not be that strong pumping up from a sump. You should look at a VarioS 4 or something along those lines.

Thanks for the reply! I do not really have the funds to purchase two MP40s at this time so I was looking for some alternatives. Any thoughts?

 

[Cell]

Plenty of options in between an MP40 and Hydor. Those are more or less the extremes.

 

[Hemmdog]

Thanks for the reply! I do not really have the funds to purchase two MP40s at this time so I was looking for some alternatives. Any thoughts?

Gyres, icecap is cheaper, maxspect and reef octo are a little higher quality. Jebao cp-25 Is also an option for a gyre that is inexpensive.

 

[Codiak]

I ran 2 hydors with a hydor smart wave controller. Until you're sure you wanna commit, go cheap. They work well, and resell. Then get MP40's when you're sure, they're worth every penny!

 

[bob salzlein]

Good afternoon everyone. As the subject line states, I have several questions and would greatly appreciate your comments and thoughts. Quick background: I have a Red Sea Reefer 250 (65 gallons of total water volume) in the midst of cycling; I have purchased all of the equipment except the powerheads. Since this is my first attempt at a reef tank, I will focus mainly on LPS and soft corals.

1. In calculating the flow rate of the aquarium, do you include the flow of the return pump? I have a Sicce pump that is 660 gph.

2. What is a general range of flow that I should be targeting for my tank considering its size and future coral inhabitants? Should I be looking at 20x turnover per hour?

3. Would a single Vortech MP40 be sufficient for my purposes?

4. I am not looking to break my bank right now, so if a single MP40 is not sufficient, have people had good luck with Hydor powerheads? I would purchase two powerheads along with a Hydor controller in order to randomize the flow.

5. Are there any other recommended lower cost powerheads and controllers that people recommend?

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your responses!

Go with the Aqamai KPm's by Hydor. 2700 GPH, fully programmable - 2 year warranty. You can buy multiple for price of some other brands. It is better to use multiple pumps anyway to avoid any dead spots.