Water flow

[mule31]

I have been having an issue with ammonia over the last couple of months. In an attempt to keep the nitrates down I have removed the filter that was housing a lot of the ammonia and nitrates but also was one of my major flow contributors. Anyway I'm looking to add more flow and was looking to see how many power heads are needed in a 45 gallon tank. I have one Korella 2 in there right now but thats not nearly enough. Any ideas as to placement and number of power heads needed? Or how many GPH I should have moving in there?

Also I have lost most of my clean up crew recently and am looking to rebuild slowly. Right now I only need to keep the detritus and fish waste to a minimum on the bottom. Is this a job for more hermit crabs or is something else better? I have two clowns and a blue tang that is leaving that tank soon for a bigger home.

[kzickovich]

in a fo tank you could get away with little flow 10x your tank more demanding coral needs 30x-40x so it all depends what's in your tank

[mule31]

Should have mentioned that its going to be a reef tank. I plan on keeping mostly softies, LPS, and maybe a few easy SPS.

[sassafrass]

Please remove all fish -the ammonia is killing them! wait until all parameters are in check before adding any livestock ( ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, nitrate under 10) Ph8.0-8.4 ,spg 1.023-1.027 . If you can keep those parameter ranges for a week then you can start adding a clean up crew . I know I seem a little harsh ,But would you go swimming in a pool with feces floating in it. It won't kill YOU right away either!

[mule31]

The ammonia has been at 0 for a while. I was having small spikes of .25 on rare occasion. Everything else was at 0 and the nitrate was under 10. I cycled the tank correctly just like any new tank there are moments of instability.

[crsswift70]

Then you can probably aim more towards the 20x. I'm betting another k2 set up in the opposite corner will be enough, but i can't remember what they are rated. I do know that with the koralia's flow pattern, you usually want the model one up from what you are thinking you need just rated on gph it pushes.

[sassafrass]

Hey mule31 sorry about the harshness ! Having parameter fluctuation is normal having any ammonia is not that means your biological filtration is not up to the task of processing the waste produced by your livestock! .25 is a lot of ammonia that is not a small spike! Please remove your livestock (perhaps your LFS can hold it for you) get param's in check then slowly re add your livestock .
Lee
PS when more people wake up you can expect to get an earfull about your tang in a 45 gal display.

[mule31]

The tang is being moved out this week. Its not a permanent member and he is just a baby. Less then two inches long at that. And I am use to hearing an earful at that.

I understand the harshness and I am working on the bio filter as we speak. I have already increased the amount of LR and my live stock is in my hospital tank. So the display is actually empty (cept for a damsel that is in there for cycling reasons). That's just the livestock list because everyone asks what is in/going into my tank when I post questions. The hospital tank has all the parameters in check.

[sassafrass]

It sounds like you are on the right track just remember in reefkeeping nothing good happens fast. A lot of LFS say you need a damsel to cycle a tank - this is false it is just to sell you a fish! A pinch of fish food or a piece of raw shrimp will do the same thing and you won't have the problem of an aggressive and territorial fish as your first inhabitant , many reefkeepers will confirm this if you ask.
Best of luck , Lee

[kzickovich]

Sassafrass is right on my first tank I cycled with damsels I didn't know any better I listened to my lfs and I killed all of them, I almost quit the hobby. My second tank I used raw shrimp and the cycle was twice as fast as the first one.