2 Koralia 4's too much for 75g?

C

cr500_af

Active Member
Market
Messages
3,378
Reaction score
0
Bought two @ a sponsor's store today, sized based on his recommendation.
I trust his guidance, but it looks like Hurricane Koralia is blowing in in my tank.
I am sitting about 20 feet away and I can't see the far end through the suspended sediment. My sand is blown away certain areas of the bottom, and it doesn't seem to help no matter how I aim them.

What am I missing here?
 
I would aim them more upwards to the surface to not get so much blasted at the sand. Are you using it with the cone on the end to direct the stream or letting it do the multi-directional flow?

I have 2 Koralia 4's in my 70g and a mag 7 return (about to upgrade to a 9.5) and the flow is fine. I just have to make sure not to aim them directly at the ground and use the multi-directional flow.

Matt
 
Thanks. I'm not using the end cones, but if I aim them up it sounds like I'm filling a bathtub.

I'm gonna go try aiming them up but positioning them low.
 
Is it sand or dust? I have 2 K3s in my 75 and would prefer the K4's. Wanna trade? My sand is a variety of sizes as well as mixed with crushed and whole shells.
 
I believe ya... it just seems like I'm about to have whitecaps in there!

25 more pounds of LR and the Koralias... I'm now ready for a couple of fish! Payday, payday, where are you?

After I make sure I don't have a "mini-cycle" with the new rock, of course. I should know in a week, right? No more ammonia/nitrite showing up means all clear?
 
Rock is without a doubt cured. I don't expect to see a spike in either (I got it from the same source as my second batch, which went in mid-cycle. It never did anything funny to my readings).
 
I have two new K3s in my 55 - let me know if you wanna try swapping a K4 for a K3 for a test run.

Robb
 
Thanks, I may do that. What is weird is that no matter how I aim them, the right one creates a lot more current/surface turbulence/sand movement than the left one, almost as if it were stronger.
Right now I have them low on the back wall facing angled forward/inward/up, and I think that may work. I may have to pester some of you for better placement, though.
 
I had mine on the back wall and no matter what it stirred up the sand as the flow bounce off the front glass. I had to put them on the ends. The one on the left is in the back top and pointed toward the front right top corner. The powerhead on the right is in the middle top pointed torward the left bottom corner. I also have a spray bar that comes down the left side about 6" from the side of the tank. It points along the back wall keeping any detrius from settling. It seriously took about 3 weeks of messing with them to get it right, but now they're great and it's VERY random flow, evident by the fish swimming in the middle where the streams meet and the fish get blown back and forth.
 
Thanks! Since it's late I'll do the pic when I get home from work tomorrow. I did notice that if I put them high and aim them any way other than low, I get HUGE surface disturbance, enough to be pretty noisy. Is that normal? Or maybe I should ask, is that desirable?
I know it helps with gas exchange, but the one place in peoples' tanks I've never really checked out is the surface of the water.
 
It helps with gas exchange and with cooling if you're not running a chiller. My surface is rolling, but it's not loud at all, at most like a slight trickle, which I find relaxing when I'm looking at the tank. Of course, if you have a hood it may reduce noise.
 
I might jut pack the K3 for friday then, just so you can check what works best.
Or we can find a way to adjust the K4s to a desirable noice level.
 
I'm running a K3, K2, and 2 k1's in a 55g planted tank as well. Long live the flow.

Matt
 
cr500_af;308848 wrote:
Right now I have them low on the back wall facing angled forward/inward/up, and I think that may work. I may have to pester some of you for better placement, though.
Click to expand...

I tried a 3 and a 4 on the back wall and I was moving sand overnight, moved both on the right side pointed at different angles and it's much better
 
I have a pair of 3's in my 90 that seems about right. I kinda guesstimated a mid point on the front glass where the streams would meet and aimed them there. adjust a little for elevation till the sand quits blowing, or add a couple handfuls of arogonite (shell chunks) sand to weight the sandbed down. It didn't take much over a couple cupfuls and I was done.
I also adjusted my return line to hit the stream convergence at a 90* angle, the water surface rolls but doesn't break. A few bubbles now and then, about it.
 
Some corals dont like heavy flow now. So lets not forget they need to have a safe haven somewhere. If a coral opens up more in these lower flow areas thwen it needs to be there. Keeping a flow in those place where detritus can build is important.

just my thoughts. Seems we might have been accentuating the flow need a little too much here.
 
LilRobb suggested, after seeing my tank, that my rock was too low & wide, and should maybe be taller in the middle to break up the current a little. It seems to be working. I also figured out that the flow from these PHs isn't a true cone shape, but kind of splits into two "branches", so twisting the PHs to a different position (like on a clock face) also kept the strongest currents off the bottom. So far, so good.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top