Should I Buy A Wavemaker/ Powerhead

[jamesmacc]

hi, well finaly collected most of the bits to get my tank up and running. next purchase is ocean rock and i was thinking of putting the spray bar above the water to disturb the surface and maybe i will need to put a powerhead behind the rock to make a current around it to stop any dead spots or uneven temperatures. here is the lin kthe the 1600 lph one i have seen that seems to be recomended.
let me know what you think or if there is another way i could go about it

 

[KittyKat]

Are you talking about a marine aquarium? What volume is it and what lph do existing filter/powerheads, etc have?

 

[jamesmacc]

sorry no its tropical, tank is 385l and a tetra ex1200 filter. no other powerheads etc. im just wondered if i would need something to circulate the water

 

[KittyKat]

sorry no its tropical, tank is 385l and a tetra ex1200 filter. no other powerheads etc. im just wondered if i would need something to circulate the water

Then is it going to be a Rift Lake aquarium? What are the dimensions of it, specifically length? Is the inlet on the same side as the spray bar for the filter? How much rock are you planning to use? 1/3 or the volume of the tank? More?

I positioned my filter inlet inside the rockwork to avoid dead spots, this seems to have worked quite well, although this is not the safest thing to do for the fry, and I do find 3-6 baby labs in the pre-filter compartment every time I clean it. Luckily, the pre-filter in my external is fry-safe compared to most.

But yes, I think it might be a good idea to add a circulation pump because of the extra rockwork, especially as Google tells me that your filter turns over only 1200 lph (which is probably without media).

 

[Tizer]

i'd probably buy another filter, my tank is a little bigger but not much and i run two of the tetratecs. additional safety with two filters plus the obvious extra water movement.

 

[KittyKat]

i'd probably buy another filter, my tank is a little bigger but not much and i run two of the tetratecs. additional safety with two filters plus the obvious extra water movement.

That's actually a better idea for Rift Lake cichlids.

 

[jamesmacc]

i'd probably buy another filter, my tank is a little bigger but not much and i run two of the tetratecs. additional safety with two filters plus the obvious extra water movement.

That's actually a better idea for Rift Lake cichlids.

yeh i was planning to keep malawis, about 1/3rd rock to 2/3rd water. i havent set it all up yet but i will have the inlet on one side or maybe the centre and then the spray bar above the water level. so you think buying another 1200 is better than getting a powerhead? i was thinking of getting another one once i have moved into the house, first mortgage payment is due in the next week and its a big one

sorry forgot you asked the dimentions. its a 50x18x26 385l

 

[KittyKat]

Yes, I would definitely recommend two filters for that tank because of the length and that amount of rock, maybe one inlet on each side of the tank, with both spray bars on one side and rockwork in a slightly V shaped formation (so there's more towards the corners and slightly less in the centre).

I do recommend that you have both filters before stocking, but I don't see a problem with starting cycling with only one filter.

It's a very nice sized tank for Malawis, I hope you have as much fun with them as I do

 

[Tizer]

Sometimes wish i had gone down this route myself, bloody plants are a pain in the backside, nothing but sand and rocks would be much easier to care for!

 

[jamesmacc]

yeh ill move in and cycle the tank and then i will get another one and run that for another week before putting fish in. cant wait to order my fish, just filling the tank up now for a 2nd stress test and its taking ages lol. so you think put one inlet either end of the tank and then both spray bars at one end, is that to casue a flow in one direction? i could put one above water to disturb it and then one under for water flow?

 

[KittyKat]

Sometimes wish i had gone down this route myself, bloody plants are a pain in the backside, nothing but sand and rocks would be much easier to care for!

I do a lot more work on a "200 litre" (more like 150 after the rocks) Malawi than on a 400 litre planted.. without the plants, the nitrates rocket into the 100s without water changes (and my tap water has 0 ppm nitrate), between that and overstocked fish (to reduce aggression), I'm also having to do rather regular filter cleaning.

yeh ill move in and cycle the tank and then i will get another one and run that for another week before putting fish in. cant wait to order my fish, just filling the tank up now for a 2nd stress test and its taking ages lol. so you think put one inlet either end of the tank and then both spray bars at one end, is that to casue a flow in one direction? i could put one above water to disturb it and then one under for water flow?

It is, of course, better to get the second filter as soon as you can afford it.

I hope that having inlets in at both ends will create no dead spots as it should be uneven enough to decrease chances of dead spots. I'm sure there's no reason to not try an outlet at each end of the tank, as long as there is still good movement centre-bottom. As for positioning the outlets, however you like is file, as long as there is sufficient surface movement. Personally, I like the idea of one at the surface, pointing straight across, and one just below, pointing slightly up and across, but that's mostly because I don't like trickling water while I'm listening to music.

 

[jamesmacc]

i havent test nitrates in my tap water yet. im going to try add a few plants to my tank ,if they shred them too bits then atleast i tried but i have seen some lucky people wihtout any problems with fairly hardy plants

 

[KittyKat]

i havent test nitrates in my tap water yet. im going to try add a few plants to my tank ,if they shred them too bits then atleast i tried but i have seen some lucky people wihtout any problems with fairly hardy plants

I have had good success with Anubias, moderate success with giant Vallis. and Java moss (moss gets shredded), occasional success with other Vallis. It is safest to assume that it won't work, but hope that you're lucky and it will.

 

[Tizer]

Sometimes wish i had gone down this route myself, bloody plants are a pain in the backside, nothing but sand and rocks would be much easier to care for!

I do a lot more work on a "200 litre" (more like 150 after the rocks) Malawi than on a 400 litre planted.. without the plants, the nitrates rocket into the 100s without water changes (and my tap water has 0 ppm nitrate), between that and overstocked fish (to reduce aggression), I'm also having to do rather regular filter cleaning.

Yeah but having to fart about with lighting/ferts/co2/clipping plants just becomes v time consuming. If i had to do a 50% water change twice a week, i think i might find life easier.

 

[KittyKat]

Sometimes wish i had gone down this route myself, bloody plants are a pain in the backside, nothing but sand and rocks would be much easier to care for!

I do a lot more work on a "200 litre" (more like 150 after the rocks) Malawi than on a 400 litre planted.. without the plants, the nitrates rocket into the 100s without water changes (and my tap water has 0 ppm nitrate), between that and overstocked fish (to reduce aggression), I'm also having to do rather regular filter cleaning.

Yeah but having to fart about with lighting/ferts/co2/clipping plants just becomes v time consuming. If i had to do a 50% water change twice a week, i think i might find life easier.

So why do you bother with the lighting/ferts/CO[sub]2[/sub]? Go "low tech", that cuts out all of the messing about!