What powerhead do I need?

[sebado]

Hi,

I have a 4ft tank (300l) that is approximately 6 months old. It is my first tank and have been through all the highs and lows.

It is a high light tank and was having loads of problems with thread Algae. Finally got my Co2 levels right and that has gone apart from a few lower leaves on the stems and few of the slow growers.

The result was my stem plants growing out of control at about 6 inches a week. I wanted to see how the plants I had grow when left to go nuts. This meant that they covered the spray bar and reduced flow. This brought on a bad dose of black brush. I have been treating this with Easy Carbo and seem to be ahead of it. Is going to take a few more weeks to treat all the sites in the tank. Even a little on the back glass on the odd plant leaf.

I think there may be a slight flow problem in the tank so am looking for advice on how you decide what make and strength of powerhead. Is there a formula?

I am planning on putting it at the right hand side of the tank and blowing along the front of the glass so that the plants aren't too battered but will get the flow going better.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

(PS. I will get some photos taken and posted if that helps with the advise. Cheers.)

 

[ceg4048]

Yes, the formula is 10X the tank volume per hour for the filter/pump rating. 300L X 10 = 3000 L per hour total flow rating.

Cheers,

 

[sebado]

Does anyone have any suggestions on brand and/or model?

Many thanks,

Sebado

 

[glenn]

a korila 2 would be suited to a 300L tank i think.
what filter do you have on it at the moment?

 

[LondonDragon]

You could always get 2 Koralias 1 to give you more options! They would total 3000lph of flow.
Although I have a Koralia Nano (900lph) and a Koralia 1 (1500lph) plus a 1500lph external filter in my 125l tank and I still think the flow could be better! lol

 

[ceg4048]

Hi,
My personal preference is to get as big and powerful a filter as you can afford (or can fit in your furniture) and then supplement the remainder with powerheads. A Fluval FX5 will get you close to the mark and would be an excellent choice for this size tank. In fact, I would even suggest that you get two filters that total close to 3000LPH rating, rather than powerheads, which are obnoxious looking and which don't have the benefit of extra filtration. Something like two Tetratec EX1200, or two Rena XP3, for example. Imagine how clean and clear your water can be. Their flows can be more easily tailored and evenly distributed using spraybars. Powerheads move water, which of course is the main objective, but in my opinion are not as effective in the overall scheme of things as powerful filters.

Cheers,