NWDiver
Swimming with the fishes
I could sure use some help from you experienced folk.
I'm a n00bie when it comes to warm water reef keeping, the tank was 6 months old when I got it, I have had it since December.
It all started with micro-bubbles...
I have a glass 120 (2x2x4) I bought used. It has two quiet one 4000 return pumps pushing ~1200 gph through my 50gal sump. If I don't use filter bags I get micro-bubbles pulled through the bubble trap. Easy right? Add a bubble tower and throttle back the return pumps, or just plain remove a pump. Sweet, except really the return is part of the tank flow (shouldn't be as I have since learned) he had it setup with the return water running through 4 nice adjustable submerged loc-lines that I can point to create decent flow. So that brings me to power heads. I have a K2 and maxijet 1200 in the tank and thought hmmm, perhaps I should get some new power heads. Ooooh, I know, closed loop! Nah, I will wait for the next tank, or at least until I need to rebuild for that. While looking at powerheads I got to reading/thinking that controlling said power heads would be better still. Which finally brings me to what controller to buy? Should I cry softly while buying a pair of tunze or Vtech power heads with controllers? It seems that I would get more "bang for the buck" with a nifty controller like a reefkeeper of Neptune so I could remove the light timers and have cool probes and stuff, while still making er... waves. I'm sure it would be even cooler to have both, but I do have to eat at least once and a while.
So I guess the final question is which is better with cost in mind, and my preference that smaller size is more important than noise, a pair of high end controlled power heads? Or get some cheaper heads and a complete controller?
Oh, I would like to keep a mixed tank probably light on the sps side.
Feel free to correct my misconceptions, and or, offer your advice.
If there is anyone in the Bellingham area that would like to (or at least be willing to) stop by and provide advise that would be fantastic.
-Todd
I'm a n00bie when it comes to warm water reef keeping, the tank was 6 months old when I got it, I have had it since December.
It all started with micro-bubbles...
I have a glass 120 (2x2x4) I bought used. It has two quiet one 4000 return pumps pushing ~1200 gph through my 50gal sump. If I don't use filter bags I get micro-bubbles pulled through the bubble trap. Easy right? Add a bubble tower and throttle back the return pumps, or just plain remove a pump. Sweet, except really the return is part of the tank flow (shouldn't be as I have since learned) he had it setup with the return water running through 4 nice adjustable submerged loc-lines that I can point to create decent flow. So that brings me to power heads. I have a K2 and maxijet 1200 in the tank and thought hmmm, perhaps I should get some new power heads. Ooooh, I know, closed loop! Nah, I will wait for the next tank, or at least until I need to rebuild for that. While looking at powerheads I got to reading/thinking that controlling said power heads would be better still. Which finally brings me to what controller to buy? Should I cry softly while buying a pair of tunze or Vtech power heads with controllers? It seems that I would get more "bang for the buck" with a nifty controller like a reefkeeper of Neptune so I could remove the light timers and have cool probes and stuff, while still making er... waves. I'm sure it would be even cooler to have both, but I do have to eat at least once and a while.
So I guess the final question is which is better with cost in mind, and my preference that smaller size is more important than noise, a pair of high end controlled power heads? Or get some cheaper heads and a complete controller?
Oh, I would like to keep a mixed tank probably light on the sps side.
Feel free to correct my misconceptions, and or, offer your advice.
If there is anyone in the Bellingham area that would like to (or at least be willing to) stop by and provide advise that would be fantastic.
-Todd
