Best powerhead/ wave maker?

[Salty_Bubbles]

I have a 14g Biocube jr and was wondering if thw return pump is enough flow for coral of if i need a power head and which one would be best not to tire out my fish?

 

[gregrock68]

My most recently set up tank 10 gallon ice cap. The pump was inadequate so I decided to upgrade it to Something There to create more flow in the tank. I upgraded to the Sicce pump .5 which added about 50% additional flow on the turnover , but also additional turbulence in the tank which was needed. This pump provided two solutions. One was increased flow in the volume of turn over, and secondly created a nut turbulence in the tank some of the LPS corals and a goni and a torch.

Of note - I couldn't find anyone that makes a small enough power head that was reliable for the small reef tanks. If you find one that is made with quality please share. I tried a micro wave maker and it was not reliable and noisy

 

[Salty_Bubbles]

My most recently set up tank 10 gallon ice cap. The pump was inadequate so I decided to upgrade it to Something There to create more flow in the tank. I upgraded to the Sicce pump .5 which added about 50% additional flow on the turnover , but also additional turbulence in the tank which was needed. This pump provided two solutions. One was increased flow in the volume of turn over, and secondly created a nut turbulence in the tank some of the LPS corals and a goni and a torch.

Of note - I couldn't find anyone that makes a small enough power head that was reliable for the small reef tanks. If you find one that is made with quality please share. I tried a micro wave maker and it was not reliable and noisy

I had used a wave maker off amazon that claimed to be rated for tanks as small at 10 gallons but the lowest powersetting just blew all my poor fish and hermit crabs around. :(

 

[gregrock68]

My most recently set up tank 10 gallon ice cap. The pump was inadequate so I decided to upgrade it to Something There to create more flow in the tank. I upgraded to the Sicce pump .5 which added about 50% additional flow on the turnover , but also additional turbulence in the tank which was needed. This pump provided two solutions. One was increased flow in the volume of turn over, and secondly created a nut turbulence in the tank some of the LPS corals and a goni and a torch.

Of note - I couldn't find anyone that makes a small enough power head that was reliable for the small reef tanks. If you find one that is made with quality please share. I tried a micro wave maker and it was not reliable and noisy

I had used a wave maker off amazon that claimed to be rated for tanks as small at 10 gallons but the lowest powersetting just blew all my poor fish and hermit crabs around. :(

Yep, that's what typically happens on the small tanks. I tried the same with a Hyger wave maker and experienced the same. Not to mention the quality of the build was an issue and it kept locking up. I think you'll be happy if you just upgrade the pump. If the pump you install this too strong, you can adjust the intake side of the pump to slow down the amount of flow, or you can add an inline valve so you can control the amount of flow. Two little fishies makes a nice small one for 1/2" lines

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I have 2 sicce voyager nano's in my 15, it shoots a wide flow as apposed to a stronger narrower flow, so its not hard on the fish and gives good flow throughout the tank.

 

[rtparty]

Tunze 6040 would be my first stop

 

[cbreier]

I have mainly Ecotech Vortech pumps and some AquaIllumination Nero pumps. The Aquaillumination Nero pumps have been awesome if you want to save money from the Vortech pumps but still have great quality, and they just keep running without issue.

 

[BryanM]

I would recommend a wavemaker. IMO if you rely on the return pump for adequate flow in the tank you'll have to turn it up a lot, which will almost always cause noise.

 

[robmiller2]

I use an AI Nero 3 on my nano. Its really hard to judge what is best but what is best for your system. I like the controllability and small form factor of the Nero 3.

 

[Pi-314]

Been asking the same question and Ill share my experience. The Jebao Slw-20 is too big at almost 3”. Never got it wet so unable to comment on flow. jebao Slw-10 was about perfect size wise and provided a good flow. But dang thing rattled so bad i could hear it throughout the house. I have a Jebao Slw-3 arriving today. Review are good and supposed to be quiet though i am concerned it will add too little flow.

 

[dvgyfresh]

I’m using the hygger nano gyre , I think it’s max 1300 gph. I have it on the lowest setting in a 20G. I am thinking about upgrading to the MP10 but will I just run into the same issue? The gyre does produce flow throughout the tank