Sea Sponges - Wavemaker vs Powerhead

[Tinnerito]

Hello! I'm upgrading tanks for my tree sponges and sea roses soon, and all this time I've been target feeding my sponges as food broadcasted hardly gets into the sponges' ostia. I currently am just dosing live phyto, and reef roids, but shoving my arm down a 2.5 foot tall tank multiple times a day can be a hassle. I am deciding whether to incorporate a wavemaker, or a powerhead. Wavemakers distribute flow throughout the tank in a natural manner, while a powerheads direct flow in one direction/area. The question is which one would be the most proficient for broadcasting food to filterfeeders?

Lfs worker: "get whatever you think is right it doesn't matter"

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Do you mean that you have no flow now, and you want to add flow to your tank? Your tank has no powerheads or wavemakers?

Or you mean that you want to 'blow' food towards the sponge?

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding.

 

[Tinnerito]

Do you mean that you have no flow now, and you want to add flow to your tank? Your tank has no powerheads or wavemakers?

Or you mean that you want to 'blow' food towards the sponge?

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding.

Sorry I didn't clarify. I wanted to keep the post short. I am currently relying on my filter return right now for said tank, since I have no coral. But would rather not buy more hardware than necessary. I would imagine a wavemaker would be better, but I don't really know, still kind of a newbie.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Depending on the size of the tank, additional sources of flow could be a benefit. On my 40 breeder, I have the return, and also 2 gyres on either side.

If you want to broadcast feed effectively, then the most flow possible is the best answer.

If you put your arm 2 feet into the tank, I suppose its a giant tank, I suggest to have a look at a pair of gyres, I love my icecap gyres, IMO they move water more efficiently than powerheads or wavemakers, but I suppose personal preference has a lot to do with it.

so my vote is "other", I vote for gyres. Good luck

 

[exnisstech]

I think the confusion is shown below. What they are calling a powerhead I and most people I know call a pump. I've always called mp40s powerheads but I guess brs (where I found the image) would consider them a wave maker. You definatly want a wave maker.

 

[Tinnerito]

Depending on the size of the tank, additional sources of flow could be a benefit. On my 40 breeder, I have the return, and also 2 gyres on either side.

If you want to broadcast feed effectively, then the most flow possible is the best answer.

If you put your arm 2 feet into the tank, I suppose its a giant tank, I suggest to have a look at a pair of gyres, I love my icecap gyres, IMO they move water more efficiently than powerheads or wavemakers, but I suppose personal preference has a lot to do with it.

so my vote is "other", I vote for gyres. Good luck

It's actually not that large. It's a 10 gallon nano, but is a vertical tank so it's very tall. I will for sure look into gyres. I appreciate the help!

 

[Tinnerito]

I think the confusion is shown below. What they are calling a powerhead I and most people I know call a pump. I've always called mp40s powerheads but I guess brs (where I found the image) would consider them a wave maker. You definatly want a wave maker.

I see, thanks for the info! :)