• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Positioning of Koralia 1?

aaronnorth

Member
Joined
19 Feb 2008
Messages
3,941
Location
worksop, nottinghamshire
Where do you reccomend positioning a koralia one in my tank? I have 2 filters on the tank(fluval 205 & Eheim 2215), both inlets are at the back right, with the fluval output on the back right, and the eheim spray bar on the back left.
I am still getting BGA, and i have put it down to flow, so i am getting a koralia 1, but i dont know wether to position it in 'A' or 'B' (see below).
SImple diagram to get a better understanding:

12-1.jpg


I will post some more info next time on what procedures i have took to get rid of the BGA as i have to go now

Thanks, Aaron
 
i would say 'A' as 'B' would push all of the crap away from the inlets.

1 quick question, can you put spraybars underwater or do they have to be above the surface? as i dont want to hae it above as i heard it drives co2 out of the water?
 
I would also say A. With B, everything seems essentially aimed at the front left corner, whereas A seems to give more even coverage IMO

Nick16 said:
can you put spraybars underwater

Absolutely, I always have mine at least an inch or so below the surface, wont harm anything in the slightest, and as you said, the decrease surface agitation means CO2 isn't gased off as quickly :)
 
thanks that helped, your A and B bit does not make sense, i think you want to change the last B to an A
 
I'd say A, but make sure the pump is angled down slightly towards the substrate, or even at the area where the BGS is most prevalent. How big is this tank again Aaron?
 
as said above dont point it up or along, have it angled at the substrate slightly to provide some low level movement.

what is better, having a koralia 1 (or 2) or having a powerhead in there? my tank is 240l but i will probably need something to go at one end. i will run 2 externals eventually but for now it is only the one. both inlets will be on the right and outlets on the left or visa versa.
 
Persoanlly if you're looking to move large volumes of water around a tank then I'd get a pump really designed for the job like the Koralias or other streamflow pumps like the Tunze ones. AFAIK the koralias are the cheapest and have a very good magnet and sucker fixing. Mine occasionally gets some bubbles trapped in which causes some noise but apart from that it has been great.

They move large volumes at lower velocity (meaning you gets lots of movement in a broad stream which doesn't flatten the fish against the glass), they are very cheap to run and take almost no maintenance. I just think it's a shame we can't use external or internal filters to produce similar diffuse flows (though I'm thinking of trying a couple of DIY options to do this).
 
i might get the koralia 1 then as it does over 10X my tank in an hour. that coupled with the flow from the externals should elimate any deadspots and help to prevent algae.
 
Nick16 said:
i might get the koralia 1 then as it does over 10X my tank in an hour. that coupled with the flow from the externals should elimate any deadspots and help to prevent algae.

What size is your tank? I have a koralia 1 in a 180l tank and while the flow was huge when I first put it in I think I could have gone a size larger. The 1 is ok though.
 
Thanks for the reply's
this is a fluval vicenza 180 - 180l cichlid tank (no plants - dont shoot me :? )
currently 7x turnover, adding the koralia 1 will push it up to 15x

I got BGA when i first set it up & put it down to the unblalnced tank, possible ammonia etc. But it hasnt gone since(after 2 blackouts), nitrate was at 10ppm. so i left the water changes longer, and it now sits at 20ppm. Both filters are clean, not much organic matter.

Thanks for the replys.

P1011683.jpg
 
The Koralia/Tunze are basically the same as a powerhead for the purpose we are using them for here. Just a case of getting water moving.

On the marine forums the Tunze gets much more good reviews than the Koralia but it is also a little more expensive.

Shows how well something sells when the far east ebay sellers start copying! As always probably less reliable but incredibly cheap in price.

This one is a Koralia copy (3000lph.) Note how it uses 3 suckers rather than the magnet
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aquarium-3000L-H- ... m153.l1262

This one is a Tunze copy (5000lph)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aquarium-ceramic- ... m153.l1262

On your setup Aaron I would look at the conflicting flows starting from the spraybar. From left rear it pushes forward and this in turn will push flow down and right. I would therefore put your Koralia in the left front pointing 2 thirds down the glass toward front right corner. I would probably then try and point the outlets in the right rear along the back a little again pointing slightly downward if possible.

This should then complete a full loop around the tank with no currents 'cancelling' each other out.

AC
 
Aaron I've always had pockets of BGA in cichlid tanks without plants, especially rift lake ones. I've even got it now in a blockhead tank with a BIG turnover! I'm not sure the same ideas that work on our planted tanks always hold up when we are thinking about unplanted tanks. What food do you feed (I'm thinking if you use high protein feeds it might be adding to it - I used to feed lots of frozen foods to my Tanganyikans) and what's the water change routine?
 
Ed Seeley said:
Aaron I've always had pockets of BGA in cichlid tanks without plants, especially rift lake ones. I've even got it now in a blockhead tank with a BIG turnover! I'm not sure the same ideas that work on our planted tanks always hold up when we are thinking about unplanted tanks. What food do you feed (I'm thinking if you use high protein feeds it might be adding to it - I used to feed lots of frozen foods to my Tanganyikans) and what's the water change routine?

nutrafin spirulina algae - 44% protein
Hikari cichlid excel - 42% protein
Tetra Pro Veg - 46% protein

Daily (mixture), i give them a pinch and wait until it has gone, then i feed them a bit more until they start to leave it.
frozen daphnia - Every Sunday

50% water change every fortnight - do you think it would be better to do, say 30% weekly?
Thanks for the links Andy, i will change the flow slightyl to see what happens,

Thanks.
 
Well the extra changes can't hurt to get rid of as much BGA as possible but what you're doing sounds good. Maybe try upping the water changes to daily ones for a while while syphoning off as much BGA as possible.
 
I've just put a Koralia 1 in my 60 ltr tank yesterday!

I only have an eheim internal rated at 550 lph and found that the filter on its own will not distribute Co2 to the base of taller plants and low growers. I want to upgrade the filter to an external with better flow but intend on getting a bigger tank so thought that the koralia (although ugly looking in such a small tank) would be a great stop gap. I have it on the same timer as the CO2 so as to give the fish a break, but they seem to enjoy the fast moving water. The Koralai rated at 1500 lph gives me a turnover of 25x p/h and thats withought the eheim internal. Although this is more than I want, with the right positioning , I've found that (contrary to what I thought might happen) the plants have not been uprooted and the fish are not pinned against the glass. The koralia does spread the flow very well.

I'm yet to discover if it does the job but I can't see why not!
 
Back
Top