10g circulation

[Mano]

So thanks to some awesome advice from you lovely people, I just started up my 10g nano reef, but Iam concerned about circulation. I have an AquaClear 20 (127gph) which gives a great current but only at the top of the tank, and a Hydor Koralia nano near the bottom of the opposite end of the tank, which seems to have a pretty weak stream which disperses quickly.

I'm considering replacing the AquaClear with a more powerful submersible powerhead to get some deeper currents going, but I'm not sure if it's necessary or not. The AquaClear causes the water surface to slight ripples all the way to the other side of the tank, where as regardless of where I place the Koralia, it seems to be blowing almost directly into coral.

The only immediate submersible replacement I could get for the AquaClear is a 400gph model, which seems a bit overkill for a 10g. Which means I'd be ordering online and would end up waiting even longer, so I really need to be planning ahead!

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tom91970]

In my 10g saltwater nano I have a Koralia Nano on the left side, near the middle. Water movement is directed slightly down so that the current is directed across the live rock.

On the back, near the right hand corner, I have an Aquaclear 20.

The cross current that is produced is more than enough; sometimes it seems like too much.

 

[patrice]

I did setup a 10 gallon reef for a friend. It has a small aquaclear with magro algae in it for filtration and the smallest power head I could find to make some more water movement.
Current is not strong but it's enough for the species he keep

 

[logtail]

I have a ten gallon nano, and I use 2 Aquatech 170gph powerheads- $20 at walmart- and a tiny Aquatech 5-15 gallon HOB filter- $10 at walmart- with nothing in it for circulation. This combo has worked perfectly for me- my only issue was aiming the powerheads at the center of the tank in such a way so that the sand at the front of the tank wasn't swept away to reveal the bottom of the tank. This for me was the cheapest and easiest setup. The HOB filter (according to the nano-saltwater sticky) is supposed to be good to have in case you need to medicate the tank, as a carbon insert could be temporarily put in to remove the medication once it had run its course.

Anyways, yes, there is a cheap easy way to do circulation and not screw up a fragile ecosystem.

 

[jclark]

Maybe a dumb question, but I thought it might fit into this thread since it is regarding the circulation in a 10gal nano. Can a powerhead be mounted upside down so the water jet is as close to the bottom as possible? I am building a nano and I wanted to mount one close to the bottom on one side and another at the top of the other. I thought it might create a better water flow. Obviously the powerheads I am using are designed to also be used for an undergravel filter and the intake is on the bottom. Any idea why this can't be done? Mechanically can these motors function inverted?