950 gph powerhead on 20 gallon long??

Ryand63 · 03/25/2012, 09:35 PM

Just wondering if a 950 gph powerhead is too much on a 20 gallon long? I would probably point it side to side and on the opposite side have my AC50 HOB. Thoughts and opninons!?!?!?!?!?!?

divewsharks · 03/25/2012, 11:43 PM

depends on whats going to be in the tank. In my frag tank (which was a 20L) I had plenty more than that.

rpjaws74 · 03/26/2012, 12:11 AM

I think it should be fine...maybe think about having another pump run at night with less gph to give the corals n fish a break when lights are off..ofcourse turn off (950) !

ken1977 · 03/26/2012, 01:02 AM

Should be fine. How large is the PH? Does it dwarf the tank?

Ron Reefman · 03/26/2012, 04:29 AM

Well, how much flow (turnover) do you want? Most reefers aim for something in the 20-40x. In a 20g tank a 950gph powerhead is 47.5 turns per hour, that's pretty high. It could work, but I'd rather have 2 smaller powerheads, like 2 at 400gph or even 3 at 300gph. I head at 950gph is going to give a lot of flow at one end, not so much at the other and the flow will set up a regular pattern which isn't good either (it leads to dead spots even at such high turnover rates). @ or 3 smaller pumps work against eachother and make for much more random and turbulent flow (much better IMHO)>

tbundy · 03/26/2012, 05:55 AM

1 950 would work but 2 750's would work much better. If you are planning on keeping a reef you can have one PH closer to the top creating ripples at the surface to promote better gas exchange, and one PH closer to the bottom to keep junk from settling on the bottom. With the 2 PHs setup like this will work well as long as the flow clashes in the middle creating random patterns. Random flow that covers the whole tank is key to animal health and water quality

BigCountry74 · 03/26/2012, 06:38 AM

That's way too much I think.

X2 use 2 smaller ones.

thegrun · 03/26/2012, 07:14 AM

Way too much in one spot. You would be better off with a couple of 500 GPH powerheads.

03/25/2012, 09:35 PM	#1
Ryand63 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,045	950 gph powerhead on 20 gallon long?? Just wondering if a 950 gph powerhead is too much on a 20 gallon long? I would probably point it side to side and on the opposite side have my AC50 HOB. Thoughts and opninons!?!?!?!?!?!?

03/26/2012, 12:11 AM	#3
rpjaws74 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: El Paso, Texas Posts: 1,340	I think it should be fine...maybe think about having another pump run at night with less gph to give the corals n fish a break when lights are off..ofcourse turn off (950) ! __________________ rpjaws Current Tank Info: 500 glln system/ Reef

03/26/2012, 04:29 AM	#5
Ron Reefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Cape Coral, FL Posts: 10,431	Well, how much flow (turnover) do you want? Most reefers aim for something in the 20-40x. In a 20g tank a 950gph powerhead is 47.5 turns per hour, that's pretty high. It could work, but I'd rather have 2 smaller powerheads, like 2 at 400gph or even 3 at 300gph. I head at 950gph is going to give a lot of flow at one end, not so much at the other and the flow will set up a regular pattern which isn't good either (it leads to dead spots even at such high turnover rates). @ or 3 smaller pumps work against eachother and make for much more random and turbulent flow (much better IMHO)> __________________ The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017

03/26/2012, 06:38 AM	#7
BigCountry74 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 1,761	That's way too much I think. X2 use 2 smaller ones. __________________ 135g mixed reef (retired) http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2132815 Current 40g reef http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2483250 Current Tank Info: 40g bare bottom reef

03/25/2012, 11:43 PM	#2
divewsharks Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 1,905	depends on whats going to be in the tank. In my frag tank (which was a 20L) I had plenty more than that.

03/26/2012, 01:02 AM	#4
ken1977 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 706	Should be fine. How large is the PH? Does it dwarf the tank?

03/26/2012, 05:55 AM	#6
tbundy Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: wilkes-barre PA Posts: 197	1 950 would work but 2 750's would work much better. If you are planning on keeping a reef you can have one PH closer to the top creating ripples at the surface to promote better gas exchange, and one PH closer to the bottom to keep junk from settling on the bottom. With the 2 PHs setup like this will work well as long as the flow clashes in the middle creating random patterns. Random flow that covers the whole tank is key to animal health and water quality

03/26/2012, 07:14 AM	#8
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	Way too much in one spot. You would be better off with a couple of 500 GPH powerheads.