koralia powerheads

[Reef Monkey]

I am looking at getting a couple of the Koralia #3 powerheads for one of my tanks and I was just curious to see what everyone (especially those of you that have them) thought of the Koralia's. Do you feel that this powerhead does a great job? I'm thinking of throwing these into my frag tank in particular. I appreciate any thoughts/advice that anyone can offer.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

I have the large one and like it. The 35 degree double spray pattern takes some getting used to, but for the money it kicks out water like a champ and the included mounting system is perfect!

 

[Reef Monkey]

do you know if it'll work with a controller? Ideally I would like to attach them to one, but i don't want them to burn out.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Shouldn't be a problem. I have mine on a timer.

 

[apollothesun]

i have version 3 and works great. i put mine 1/2 way on side of tank and point it upwards. gives a great ripple effect and moves water well.

 

[Reef Monkey]

Do you have it hooked up to a controller and if so what kind?

 

[apollothesun]

hearing the fireworks outside? used it on a redsea wavemaster pro, but the controller would give it a hard startup, even though redsea instructions say soft startup on pumps. i think it was every 20-30secs. i just let it flow constantly.
there's some on ebay but if you live in around seattle, barrier reef has them for same price, save on shipping

 

[Reef Monkey]

Thanks I will definatly look into that

 

[barrierreefcf]

The biggest problem in answering this question accurately is that nobody really knows. These pumps have only been out a few months so its not proven whether or not they can stand up to being controlled for very long. Most info I've read and learned through discussions comes to the conclusion that they can be used on controllers but they might chatter or have trouble starting. Most people also believe they will wear out before 12 months when being stopped and started this way. Since the seio controllers slow down the pump and then speed it back up they are thought to be the best option with little or no negative affect on the koralia. Just keep in mind that these are so new nobody really knows for sure.

 

[HarleyDude]

I have (3) #3's and (2) #4's. I attempted to use them with a wave timer, but they made too much noise on start-up and scared the fish every time. It iss for a FOWLR tank, so it didn't matter too much to me so I now just run them straight. These pumps, when they first came out, had some electrical issues but since have been corrected. Just to be safe, when you receive them, send an e-mail to the Hydor ([email protected]) with the lot number on the pump (3 digit # on the silver tag), the model and what country the power is and ask them if they are safe. It may take a day or two, since they are in Italy, but they will get back to you and tell you whether they are ok, or not.

 

[chadmace]

I have two Koralia 4s, they are on all the time. They put out a pretty gentle flow. I would agree that a controller that leaves them on, but speeds them up and slows them down would be best as they do tend to chatter when you first turn them on. Whenever I have turned mine off for whatever reason when they start up the fish shoot into the live rock. Just leave them on and you'll be fine.

 

[Jan]

I have the large one and like it. The 35 degree double spray pattern takes some getting used to, but for the money it kicks out water like a champ and the included mounting system is perfect!

I didn't know these have a dual spray pattern, or even what that means? I have a #4 and some tunze nanostreams. My only complaint about the koralia is that the "footprint" is so large for the #4's...

 

[HarleyDude]

The one other issue I have is the magnet isn't quite as powerful as I would like them to be. I have a 180-gallon Glass Cages tank and the glass width is the "max" that they recommend, but mine just barely stay on. I wanted to mount them on the back of my tank, but I painted the back with chalkboard paint, for a background, and its thickness is just enough to not allow the magnet to work at all. If I want to do that I may end up using the algae scraper magnets or equivalent.

 

[Reef Monkey]

Thank you everybody for all of your help. What are your thoughts on hooking the Koralia's to this Chauvet light controller?

http://www.pssl.com/bitemdetail.tpl~eqint_KeyIDdata~35503~UID~2007060322245815~newproduct~T

 

[DonW]

Thank you everybody for all of your help. What are your thoughts on hooking the Koralia's to this Chauvet light controller?

http://www.pssl.com/bitemdetail.tpl?eqint_KeyIDdata=3550&newproduct=T&source=TLP&engine=gaw

The link is dead.

Don

 

[Reef Monkey]

Sorry about that, try it now.

 

[cwby416]

I just ordered two of those light controlers last week for my Korilia PH's. I think like everyone else has said, only time will tell. no one has had these long enough to tell if they will burn out the motors or not. the only issue so far (what I hear) is the noise of the pumps starting up all the time....

 

[Snowboarda42]

I'm going to order 2x of the #3's pretty soon for my 40B SPS tank.

 

[trido]

I just ordered two of those light controlers last week for my Korilia PH's.

Do those light controllers hard start the PHs? I have the ocean pulse duo wave maker and I swear my #4s probably wouldnt make it six months if I ran them on a (hard start) wave maker. They chatter quite loudly and for a good length of time every once in a while. I think I am just going to save for the SEIO controller

 

[DonW]

Do those light controllers hard start the PHs? I have the ocean pulse duo wave maker and I swear my #4s probably wouldnt make it six months if I ran them on a (hard start) wave maker. They chatter quite loudly and for a good length of time every once in a while. I think I am just going to save for the SEIO controller

They are just on or off no "soft start" light chasers. They dont last very long but they are cheap.

Don