Do I need a wave maker in anything less than 40 gallons?

[SheldonC]

I'm currently looking at adding a second tank to the house, and I'm looking at various tanks between Red Sea, Waterbox, and Fiji Cube. I want something less than 40 gallons for this second tank. Given the footprint of these tanks is either a cube, or slightly larger (i.e. the Red Sea Max Nano XL is 20" long by 24" wide). Does a tank of this size need a wave maker? Anything I add wouldn't run very hard, but curious what others think. Thinking of a mixed reef. TIA.

 

[fishywishy]

Yes

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

The return itself might be sufficient. You can always add a powerhead later if you want. How much flow you need somewhat depends on how much rockwork you have how any and how large your corals are. The water will move throughout the tank easier if the tank is empty, but if the tank is packed with a lot of rocks you might need more flow or you'll have dead flow flow spots that collect detritis. Personally I like having a good amount of flow throughout my tank.

 

[BonnieB]

Depends what you have in the tank and how good your return pump is. I have Wavemaker in both my 32.5 and 10 gallon tanks. I have a lot of things that require a decent flow and so they both needed that extra to help the corals thrive. I love the little mini one I have for the 10g because my nems have never looked better!

 

[Reef Jedi]

Not necessarily, but I think you’ll find you’ll want one on each end for proper flow. See how coral‘s respond however, if it were me, I would put one on each end.

 

[paulroberts1975]

Depends what you have in the tank and how good your return pump is. I have Wavemaker in both my 32.5 and 10 gallon tanks. I have a lot of things that require a decent flow and so they both needed that extra to help the corals thrive. I love the little mini one I have for the 10g because my nems have never looked better!

Which one do you have in your 10 gallon ? I’m looking for one that doesn’t cause chaos in a 15 gallon

 

[BonnieB]

Depends what you have in the tank and how good your return pump is. I have Wavemaker in both my 32.5 and 10 gallon tanks. I have a lot of things that require a decent flow and so they both needed that extra to help the corals thrive. I love the little mini one I have for the 10g because my nems have never looked better!

Which one do you have in your 10 gallon ? I’m looking for one that doesn’t cause chaos in a 15 gallon

So this was the third one before I finally found a good fit. What I like about it is that it isn’t a straight, narrow stream or; it’s more of a wide spread, which was gentler and my two nems have moved out from under the ledge to get with the flow! I have a cube so that was another reason it ended up being my pick. It super simple to use (not a bunch of fancy stuff like in my big tanks!) and has a feed mode. I should get commission for this !

JEREPET 1050GPH Aquarium Wave... Amazon product ASIN B0CXT4YZRS

 

[Bartanto]

Yes

This.

 

[Vivid Creative Aquatics Verified Sponsor]

I'm currently looking at adding a second tank to the house, and I'm looking at various tanks between Red Sea, Waterbox, and Fiji Cube. I want something less than 40 gallons for this second tank. Given the footprint of these tanks is either a cube, or slightly larger (i.e. the Red Sea Max Nano XL is 20" long by 24" wide). Does a tank of this size need a wave maker? Anything I add wouldn't run very hard, but curious what others think. Thinking of a mixed reef. TIA.

in most cases you can get away without any addition powerheads or wave makers - especially if you upgrade the return pump and add a Random Flow Generator nozzle to the return

Our pre-configure flow kits will fit about 95% off all aquariums on the market today - especially in the 40-gallon and less sizes.

 

[fishsocks]

How do you determine what good flow is? The return that came with my JBJ 24 seems decent but I’m not sure. When I put a cube of frozen fish food in the tank it seemed to mostly clear out within an hour or two but there would be a couple pieces still kinda floating around place to place on the rock. I also have a bit of a cave (maybe 4” x 4” x 1.5 deep rock to glass with ~1” of sand) that I am not sure needs a lot of flow. I figured it would be good as a cool quiet lounge lol

 

[rtparty]

Absolutely. Flow is the second most important part for healthy livestock. Water chemistry, flow, light.

 

[paulroberts1975]

So this was the third one before I finally found a good fit. What I like about it is that it isn’t a straight, narrow stream or; it’s more of a wide spread, which was gentler and my two nems have moved out from under the ledge to get with the flow! I have a cube so that was another reason it ended up being my pick. It super simple to use (not a bunch of fancy stuff like in my big tanks!) and has a feed mode. I should get commission for this !

JEREPET 1050GPH Aquarium Wave... Amazon product ASIN B0CXT4YZRS

Thanks :-). What’s the lowest it can go. I’ve got a sicce nano voyager and the look of panic on my clowns face when it’s on isn’t providing a relaxing experience for me or the fish

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I didn't have one when my 20g was set up, but I would get one now. My tank needed more flow than what my return pump could provide

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

How do you determine what good flow is? The return that came with my JBJ 24 seems decent but I’m not sure. When I put a cube of frozen fish food in the tank it seemed to mostly clear out within an hour or two but there would be a couple pieces still kinda floating around place to place on the rock. I also have a bit of a cave (maybe 4” x 4” x 1.5 deep rock to glass with ~1” of sand) that I am not sure needs a lot of flow. I figured it would be good as a cool quiet lounge lol

That means you are feeding too much food. Any food that you add should be gone in less than a minute. Keep reducing your portions to the point where almost every single piece is eaten.

I feed one cube to 18 fish, how many fish do you have?

Food starts to decay after about 10 minutes in the water. Rotting food will increase the organics level and algae will follow. Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

 

[BonnieB]

So this was the third one before I finally found a good fit. What I like about it is that it isn’t a straight, narrow stream or; it’s more of a wide spread, which was gentler and my two nems have moved out from under the ledge to get with the flow! I have a cube so that was another reason it ended up being my pick. It super simple to use (not a bunch of fancy stuff like in my big tanks!) and has a feed mode. I should get commission for this !

JEREPET 1050GPH Aquarium Wave... Amazon product ASIN B0CXT4YZRS

Thanks :-). What’s the lowest it can go. I’ve got a sicce nano voyager and the look of panic on my clowns face when it’s on isn’t providing a relaxing experience for me or the fish

Haha, so when I hooked it up and started it, it blew out powerful flow and my clowns scrammed and hid. I turned it off and got a bucket to put it in so I could adjust the program and frequency/flow before putting it back in the tank! That’s my advice! Not sure on a speed basis but it has 4 different flow types and I have mine set to a random flow. I have it on the lowest flow and frequency…I wish it was easy to film it for you. I can only say it is gentle enough that my clowns don’t avoid going past it but good enough flow that my nems are getting flow they like. It is refundable within the Amazon window time frame if it turns out not to be right for your tank and inhabitants!

 

[CHSUB]

e. the Red Sea Max Nano XL is 20" long by 24" wide). Does a tank of this size need a wave maker

I have the RS max nano Xl….imo, I guess it depends…haha, however I have 2, a Tunza 6040 and Nero 3 both running at about +80%. Flow is critically important to maintaining low nutrients and a healthy aquarium.

 

[ScottJ]

in most cases you can get away without any addition powerheads or wave makers - especially if you upgrade the return pump and add a Random Flow Generator nozzle to the return

Our pre-configure flow kits will fit about 95% off all aquariums on the market today - especially in the 40-gallon and less sizes.

Defiantly get a Random Flow Generator.

 

[paulroberts1975]

Defiantly get a Random Flow Generator.

thanks, this seems a better idea, I will look into it

 

[ScottJ]

thanks, this seems a better idea, I will look into it

An RFG is a great addition, whether or not you have a wave maker. (and VCA is the best IMHO)

 

[Kooma]

I couldn't imagine being without one. I have a Nero 5 in my 32 gallon. Unless you are building a tidal pool style tank, you need lots of flow.