Need A Powerhead?

[123justin]

I have a 20g tank (fully cycled with 20lbs of live rock) with a Maxijet 400 powerhead.

I recently bought a Aqua Clear 110 so I can make a refugium because I would like to keep a mandarin goby in the future (probably wait a year until my tank is well established).

My question is, do I need to keep my maxijet powerhead on? Because the flow rate of the AC filter is pretty strong.

I plan on swapping out the motor for a smaller one to reduce flow once I plan on making my refugium. But for now, should I just let the AC filter move the water or use both powerhead/filter.

I have 1 clown fish, small branching hammer coral, and 5 dwarf hermit blue/zebra crabs.

 

[billa_bong]

put the powerhead on a timer running for like 4 hours a day to switch up the current a bit.

that would be cool and not wasting a powerhead.

 

[Navarre]

Your flow rate seems fine to me. A 20 gallon system needs 200g turnover per hour minimum., You have far more than this and are more than 20x turnover per hour. Whilst it might seem alot there are plenty of systmes that run as high as 45x volume per hour!

Water flow in a tank is something we will never truely replcate in a home system. Fish and corals are used to the sea and this means millions of gallons per second washing over a coral reef. We cannot match this and can only usually manage a few hundred gallons per hour etc. You should not worry about your fish as they are truely adept at living in these types of conditions.

I would only consider reducing the flow if you keep slow moving fish that are not good swimmers such as seahorses etc. And perhaps corals that prefer slow movement if you cannot find a peaceful location ot house them in the tank.