46 Gallon Bow Powerheads

I have a 46 gallon bow front with 2 Koralia 1's and a in-tank uv sterilizer that outputs about 80GPH and my Aqua C Skimmer that outputs about 80GPH. Roughly 20 -21 times an hours turnover. Anyone think I should add another powerhead? I have no algae problems now.
Adam

 

as long as you have flow around the whole tank, (no dead spots) I would think you're good.

 

i would be very hesitant running a UV 24/7

 

It really depends on what you are going for. Is this going to be a reef tank? If so, you will need more flow. Aim for a 40X-50X turnover rate

 

Water Turnover Rate

First what is the problem with running a UV 24/7? Also I have flow at the bottom of the tank which I can see. Its not much but there is some. I was thinking of replacing the koralia 1's with koralia 2's

 

I think you need flow throughout your tank, not just at the bottom. where are you getting 20-21/hr turnover? you should be FILTERING 10x/hr not just moving water around. what filter(s) do you have?

 

Flow rate

The only filter I have is the protein skimmer. The 2 koralias at 400 GPH each plus the uv pump which is 80 and the skimmer which is about 80. Add that up and divide by 46 gallons and you get 21 GPH

 

I think you are fine with your protein skimmer as long as you have a bunch of LR. I would say about 75 lbs would give you the biological filtration that you need to go along with your skimmer. I am not a big believer in mechanical filtration with the exception of running carbon. You could add a HOB filter to do that. If you do, I would get the kind that runs three kinds of media. This gives you options in case you want to utilize them.

Now, PL is right on with the flow rate of 40 to 50x for a reef tank. That would put you at 2300GPH. So 2300-800-80= around 1400 to provide your tank. Two Koralia-2s would do it. So you would be running two K-1s and two K-2s. Plus your skimmer. 45x.

Your UV is next. Only run that bad boy when you have an outbreak of something that needs to be taken care of. I have mine on standby. I have not needed to use it yet. The trouble with running it all the time is that you kill the good guys along with the bad. Your tank can be too sterile. So I would turn it off.

If you are running a fish only tank, I would consider 30x to be the minimum. And you would just add a K-2 to the mix. If you are going to buy the Koralias, check out this eBay seller. I have purchased from him twice. Great seller. And the cheapest I have been able to find.

2 PUMPS! Hydor Koralia # 2 Pump Powerhead 600g = WAVES! - eBay (item 200264764384 end time Nov-16-08 13:33:53 PST)