Bio Wheel..

dont use the bubbler just use power heads....make sure you have at least one power head aimed up towards the surface of the water creating that ripple effect at the service....this will make for a better gas exhange and allow more oxygen into the tank

 

For reference, I have about this much:


Agreed on no bubbler, btw. Possibly a powerhead.

 

very little, if any for now. I just moved everything from a 28 to the 37. Kept all the original water, switched from sand to 'live' crush floridal coral substrate... I got sick of the sand mess.

 

get a power head asap and point it at the surface of the water

 

is installing a power head extensive? ones I see online show under substrate work!!

 

Oh boy. Crushed coral can be bad news. Much more maintenance than sand. Sand isn't even a mess, once it gets established and you have your flow straightened out.

As for the powerhead, get one, and get about as much surface agitation as on my picture up there. They're simple to install. Koralias (a highly-used brand; the one linked is likely too big for your tank) are a suction cup and a magnet to hold it against the glass. Under sand work tends to mean an undergravel filter, which this is definitely not.

 

The sand would kill my filter impeller! Made it loud and sometimes jammed it completely...

 

What kind of filter, the BioWheel?

Sand shouldn't be high enough up in the water to get in the intake of that, unless you had too much flow on the bottom, or never gave the sand a chance to settle in.

 

the propeller in the marineland penguin 200. I had to buy another after the sand was in places that it couldn't be cleaned out. The impeller itself was jammed.

Do the power heads require extensive pluming? i.e. will I be dismantling the tank to install them or are they essentially and underwater fan?

 

It happened during cleaning and water changes.. Even when unplugging it.