Live Rock And Air Bubble Questions

[karaim]

I have several questions, so I combined them into one post.

1) I used half live rock and half base rock for my tank. The problem is the live rock is brownish/greenish and the base rock is white. Will the base rock eventually get covered with algae, etc. and change color? I don't like the way the white looks, but I hope it will eventually "adapt" a new color.

2) Do I need to put air bubbles in my tank? I have a 125 gallon reef with a 20 gallon sump. So far I have 1 650 gph pump for circulation. Do I need to "create" addiotional air?


Thanks

 

[SkiFletch]

Well you'll need more turnover than that in the display tank via powerheads. That's fine for a return pump for the sump though. And yes, over time the rocks will "color up" and look more like your LR. Expect to wait a while for that to happen though, prolly 3-6 months before it "appears" the same and 6-12months before it's really "live"

 

[karaim]

Well you'll need more turnover than that in the display tank via powerheads. That's fine for a return pump for the sump though. And yes, over time the rocks will "color up" and look more like your LR. Expect to wait a while for that to happen though, prolly 3-6 months before it "appears" the same and 6-12months before it's really "live"

SkiFletch,

I should have clarified that I have a 640 gph going from my sump to my display, and another 640 gph in the display tank itself.

This is my layout

Right Back Corner - return from sump
Right Left Corner - another return from sump

Right Front Corner - 640 gph pump

I also plan on getting another pump for the Right Left corner.

Is this enought or should I have more than 2 (in addition to the return from the sump).

Also, all of the pumps are creating airflow on top of the tank at this moment. Should I put some in the center or the bottom of the tank?

Thanks


One more thing - are actual air bubbles needed? You know, the kind that people use for freshwater tanks?

 

[SkiFletch]

No, actual bubbles are not needed. So you're around 1000gph in a 120g tank, less than 10 times turnover per hour. This is OK if you're going fish only. Were it my tank I'd still get a little more flow in there, or at least a powerhead near the surface agitating it. if you plan on getting corals, you'll need another say 1400+gph. Consider looking into propeller style powerheads like Tunze streams or Hydor Koralias as these push MUCH more water for very little electricity.

 

[karaim]

No, actual bubbles are not needed. So you're around 1000gph in a 120g tank, less than 10 times turnover per hour. This is OK if you're going fish only. Were it my tank I'd still get a little more flow in there, or at least a powerhead near the surface agitating it. if you plan on getting corals, you'll need another say 1400+gph. Consider looking into propeller style powerheads like Tunze streams or Hydor Koralias as these push MUCH more water for very little electricity.

SkiFletch, thanks again.

I DO plan on getting corals. So if I hear you correctly, I should have 10x the amount of my tank for corals? That means at least 10,000 gph? Is that possible? Are there powerheads that can do several thousand gph? I don't want to have 20 powerheads. Optimally, I would like to have 2 (or 3 max) powerheads - otherwise it would look kind of ugly. Do the Tunze Streams or Hydor Koralias provide the kind of power I need?

What about a wave maker? How would that function and would my tank overspill from the waves?

 

[karaim]

SkiFletch, one more question - which way should I point the powerheads? I heard pointing towards each other is good because it creates turbulence. Can I point at the LR?

 

[karaim]

Ok, I looked at the Hydor Koralias and they are A LOT cheaper than the Tunze.

Will 3 Hydor Koralias 8 Magnum (3250 gph) be enough or should I get 4? Again my only problem is how to stick them in the tank (so it doesn't look ugly) and which way to point them.

 

[SkiFletch]

Heh, don't misplace your zeros . You have a 120g tank. Ideally you'd want 20 times turnover per hour, aka 2400gph, not 24000... You currently have probably ~900gph (the return pump looses some flow pushing water up that high) leaving you about 1500gph short. Look into Koralia 3's or 4's I think for that flow range...

 

[karaim]

Heh, don't misplace your zeros . You have a 120g tank. Ideally you'd want 20 times turnover per hour, aka 2400gph, not 24000... You currently have probably ~900gph (the return pump looses some flow pushing water up that high) leaving you about 1500gph short. Look into Koralia 3's or 4's I think for that flow range...

Wow! I feel stupid. It must have been really late.

Anyway, would it be overkill if I had about 4000 gph in my tank (thinking of getting two Koralias about 2000 gph each). Would there be any cons for getting such powerful powerheads for a tank my size? Would these powerheads blow the fish away?

 

[SkiFletch]

Probably not. In fact, I'd suggest using the two Koralias and the return pump only and ditch the other 650gph powerhead which is probably an energy hog anyways... Or better yet keep it in the closet as a backup for not if but when your return pump needs servicing or fails...

 

[CageUK]

Probably not. In fact, I'd suggest using the two Koralias and the return pump only and ditch the other 650gph powerhead which is probably an energy hog anyways... Or better yet keep it in the closet as a backup for not if but when your return pump needs servicing or fails...

Or use it to mix your salt

 

[karaim]

Probably not. In fact, I'd suggest using the two Koralias and the return pump only and ditch the other 650gph powerhead which is probably an energy hog anyways... Or better yet keep it in the closet as a backup for not if but when your return pump needs servicing or fails...

Thanks. That's what i'll do. For the other 650 gph pump, I'm thinking of using it as a return pump as well - I have 2 return pipes and 1 pipe for both. I am thinking of using 2 separate pumps for the 2 return pipes.