Hydor Koralia Power Heads

[DouglasTiede]

Those that have Hydor Koralia Power Heads, what do you like and dislike about them?

How big are they, I can't seem to find stats on the pump #1's and #2's

[jeeperrs]

I love mine. I like it because it is not a direct line of water coming out. It really moves the water around in all different directions. I have 2 number two's and one number 3 in my 75.

[rbursek]

Go to Drs. Foster and Smith they sell them and have all the Specs, great LS also and a 14 day guarantee no questions.
Bob

[rbursek]

I have 3 #2 in my 125AG and just ordered 2 more #1 to put in back in each corner down low, 2 of the 2's are on a wave maker, no propblemo.
Bob

[airinhere]

I love them. Started with a pair of #1's in my 55 gal. Now I have a pair of #4 in each of my 90's and a pair of #3 in my 120 anem tank. I know their was a problem with stray voltage in the larger sizes when they first came out, but there is a general recall on them and the new ones are working fine for me.

[650-IS350]

got 4 Hydor #4s in my 100gal.. real good indirect flow and even...

[DouglasTiede]

thanks for the input! Just have to convience the wife I need new power heads. ( Hmm maybe give her my old one )

[TrojanScott]

Only downside is the magnets suck! But, a good pump, I do like the two #4's I'm using.

[jeeperrs]

I have a hard time getting the magnets off the glass lol. However, I have a 75 with thinner glass than a 180

[Aimforever]

Don't compare the GPH to other pumps you are familiar with, like Maxi-jets or whatever. Even though the #1s are rated at 400 gph, in practice they create FAR less circulation in my tank than a MJ 1200.

Sure, they move 400 gph, but the flow is so dispersed it only makes it 12 inches before it is completely dissipated. Don't make the same mistake I did; buy at least one size bigger than you would with a normal powerhead.

Two #1s in my 36 gallon tank and I can't hardly tell when they are on or off. What a waste of money...

[airinhere]

They do have wierd dispersal patterns. My #1's do seem pretty weak compared to other unidirectional powerheads. My #4's are almost too strong for my 90 gals. It took a while for me to find a way to place them without blasting everything around.

[tslabaugh]

Yes..they have a dispersed flow..but this allows you to position it AT corals instead of away from them with the MJ's. an MJ directed right at a coral will almost rip its polyps off! I am probably going to go with either 2 -#2's or 2- #3's for my 58 to replace my maxijets.

[HowardW]

<<< Sure, they move 400 gph, but the flow is so dispersed it only makes it 12 inches before it is completely dissipated. >>>



A gentle dispersed random flow is exactly what you want in your tank, not the fire hose type laminar flow like most powerheads offer. When diving around a coral reef you generally see most corals and plants gently swaying up and back in a random fashion with the surges of flow.

[Aimforever]

Let me know how it goes tlsabaugh... I am trying to decide which size to get myself. I am worried that 2 #2s won't be enough again. IMO the #1s aren't good for anything bigger than a 12G nano. Seriously, they just don't keep anything circulated.

For example: If I leave my 2 #1s on all week (regardless of how I position them) my sand gets buildup of detritus, old food, and just random dead crap collecting in several spots all around the tank. All I have to do to fix this is put a SINGLE MJ 1200 halfway into the tank, point it upwards at a 45 degree angle and turn it on. Within seconds all that crap is whipped up into the water column and goes out the overflow. Although the MJ is moving less GPH, it produces easily 2-3X the amount of circulation throughout the tank. This is probably b/c its stream of flow doesn't vanish a foot in front of it. This is especially dissapointing since just one #1 is double the cost of a MJ1200.

Don't get me wrong, I love the design and the low power usage; its just that if you base your decision on which model to get on your experience with traditional powerheads, you will not be satisfied. As I said above I'm actually planning on getting two bigger Koralias to replace the ones I have. My point is, the #1s are close to useless unless you have a nano. You could fart in your tank and cause more water movement than a Koralia #1.

[leeweber85]

I just got my #3 today. Seems to be pretty nice, I like the mount. The flow isn't all that strong, but it's nice and wide. It's nowhere near my MJmod ouput though. I'm definetly glad I didn't get the smaller versions. It will go in a 37g cube when it's setup. I think 2 of them would be just right for it.

The size isn't all that big either which I was worried about.

[Aimforever]

Originally posted by HowardW
A gentle dispersed random flow is exactly what you want in your tank

I totally agree Howard, but it isn't very helpful when that flow is so gentle that it doesn't make anything sway and lets all the detritus in the water column settle to the bottom of the tank. I had gentle random flow by placing two MJ1200s in the two back corners of my tank, pointed upwards at 45 degree angles towards each other behind the rockwork. Flow was gentle, very random, yet still powerful enough to keep crap suspended and cyano off my sandbed.

After all the hype about the Koralias I just had to get a pair for myself. I thought surely since my two MJ1200s were only moving roughly 600gph that two #1s moving 800gph total would be more than enough... you can imagine how upset I was when they were installed and I had virtually stagnant water all over the tank. My fish weren't happily swimming anymore and many of my softies were not swaying at all and didn't have the same polyp extension.

So I guess this is why I am so bitter towards the #1s. They just don't move water like their 400gph rating would lead consumers to believe. I am sharing to prevent others from making the same dumb mistake. Like I said before, just buy bigger than you think you will need and you will be happy.

[DaveG99]

I have a #2 in my 46 gallon bow front. For a 36" tank two #2 is perfect! These pumps are great. Mine is working flawlessly. And they are pretty cheap.

[morbius18]

Originally posted by rbursek
I have 3 #2 in my 125AG and just ordered 2 more #1 to put in back in each corner down low, 2 of the 2's are on a wave maker, no propblemo.
Bob

What kind of wavemaker? I was going to buy 3 for my 25 tall, but I didn't think that they worked with most wavemakers, only the Seios.

[Fraggle Rock2]

I have a #2 and a #3 in my 37g. The difference between the two almost seems exponential. The three puts out much more noticable flow. However, since I have a mixed tank I think it works for me. If I was all SPS I would have two #3's.

The downside is that they seem to get dirty really fast, they tend to vibrate my hood if the cords aren't placed properly and they were also tricky to place at first given the V-shaped flow pattern. However, I don't think these issues are specific to the Koralia.

I wouldn't go lower than a #3 unless you have a tank smaller than a 37g or don't need all that flow.

[edwing206]

I have 2 4's in my 60 and they put out a lot of flow. Keeps the sand clean. Can't hear them running either.

[Roy G. Biv]

I have 4 MJ 1200 tucked behing the LR with little firehoses hidden between the rocks. I just ordered 2 #4' to add to this.

[bngowe]

From what i've noticed they are too dispersed for longer tanks.

[jmkins]

I wouldn't go lower than a #3 unless you have a tank smaller than a 37g or don't need all that flow. [/B]

Agreed. I have a 40 sps dominated tank with one K4 and a lower flow mj mod. I am going to switch over to 2 K4s when I get the cash.

[DouglasTiede]

so what you are saying is that in a 75g or larger you truly need #3's and #4's

[NVTE]

i have one nanostrem 6025 and koralia #4 in my 60. I think it still not good as nanostream and my seio 820.