Tank has dead spots, not sure whats the problem.

Celbrise · Aug 9, 2017

my tank has dead spots and i am not sure how to get rid of this issue. i know because when i was feeding the food would just get stuck onto the rock and stay there and decay over night or it would hide say near the filter intake but not get sucked up.

im running a 75gph power head ( don't know what brand it is but it's from petco ) had the same brand but 45gph and a fluval 306 cannister filter on a 55gal tank. Now i only have the 75gph power head and filter running the other power head broke.

any help? is my filter not running enough GPH for this tank?, Power heads too weak? Power head placement is bad? i do not have a wave maker either.

can't decide if i should upgrade my filter ASAP or wait off, Upgrade my power heads to higher GPH and add more then just 2 maybe 3 this time and also add a wave maker. if all 3 could i get some suggestions on filtration and how much GPH i should be going for as well as powerheads?

kazikage42 · Aug 9, 2017

How big is the tank? Do you have a sump? Any pics? Having just one power head can cause dead spots.

Celbrise · Aug 9, 2017

55gals; not sure if it's long but surely isn't a wide tank. guess would be classified as your typical 55gal tank. no sumps just the cannister filter for filtration. yea i had 2 power heads before but one eventually broke but with that running as well i could still see it had dead spots.

idk if it was my rock placement as well. i usually place my rock right in the center or the tank. had one power head on the right side blowing to the front of the tank and the other one on the left side blowing on the back of the tank both were at different heights. the one lower i might have pointed it up slightly and the one higher i would point downward.

sometimes if there was uneaten food i would just see it laying right under the filter intake but not get sucked up or clinging to it at all it would just be resting on the sand bed or it would get stuck on the rock structures and not move an inch

Hely'sreef1 · Aug 9, 2017

I have 2 tunze powerheads in my 30 gallon tank, plenty of water movement and my corals and fish seem happy. I use a syphon tube to remove detritus during my weekly water change. Also use a turkey baster to blast any dead zones. Your lfs should be able to advise you how much power you need for your powerheads

Celbrise · Aug 9, 2017

not too sure i mean i figured my filter would be good enough and the 2 power heads at that rate would be fine. maybe i need a stronger filter and stronger powerheads? currently have no pictures. my tank is currently bare with just sand, filter, and the one power head. tank is in really bad shape atm and crashed so im trying to fix it up.

kazikage42 · Aug 9, 2017

Your power heads are not strong enough for a 55 gallon, even with 2. I would recommend 2 jebao pp8s. They're great, powerful, and budget friendly pumps that have multiple settings that can really help you dial in your flow. I personally use 3 pp8s in max power in 90 gallon with great success. Just clean them every few months and they're last a long time.

Celbrise · Aug 9, 2017

would you suggest the pp4's? im finding mix reviews on the pp4's and pp8's some say pp4's will work good others suggest getting the pp8's for slightly bigger tanks like 60-80gals. Also can you hook up 2 of these to one of the wave makers or no? seems like it only works on one pump

kazikage42 · Aug 9, 2017

Pp4s are great also if you do t need alot of flow. I always go for more flow than I need just in case. I don't know why there are mixed reviews on these bc they're great pumps. Only down side is if you don't clean them every few months they will lose power and fail. Yes you can link them together but I prefer to run them separately so I get more random flow throughout the tank.

Celbrise · Aug 9, 2017

they are just mixed reviews on the size of the tanks you use them on everyone else saying they like them. how do you clean them? just soak in ro/di or something? o.o

kazikage42 · Aug 9, 2017

Celbrise said:
they are just mixed reviews on the size of the tanks you use them on everyone else saying they like them. how do you clean them? just soak in ro/di or something? o.o

I soak my pumps in vinegar for 24hrs. All the Coraline and algae comes off super easy with minimal scrubbing.