I need help in determining the appropriate power head for my 20 gallon high saltwater tank. Currently I have a Maxi-Jet 900, which seems to be producing a little too powerful a current for the tank.
M -
check this link out...........I have the "nano" in my 20 gallon long tank - -after useing these powerheads i don't think i'll ever go back to a "normal" pump type head - the reason i love them is they don't force water out in a "jet" more so they "move" it with the propeller ....giving you actually more flow and more area moving but not in a violent vortex ---very gentle {my snails will climb on it, lol}
Yeah, Koralias are great. or you can go with the Maxijet 400 or 600 with a 360 degree rotating head. I have a 10G nano reef with a CPR refugium, a Marineland C-160 canister with carbons only, a Koralia nano powerhead + a Rio 160 mini with the 360 rotation. I have somewhere around 500 G/Hr circulation, without over heating, which is very good for a 10G.tank.
it comes with everything to make it a koralia style pump... propellors and everything... it's supposed to be better than a koralia because koralia's have small low wattage motors... and it's only $15...
There's 5 different Koralias out there in the market..I belive. Koralia nano, and Koralia 1-4. A Koralia 1 ( which is the 2nd smallest after the nano version) pumps 400 G/Hr compare to the MJ 1200 which does 295 G/Hr. A Koralia 4 does somewhere around 1200 g/Hr. I think it's a great reason to upgrade. + It's about half size (maybe even less) of the MJ's with those upgrade kit.
Low wattege doesn't necessary mean lower output. Will save you few cents, and your water stays a bit colder in the summer time.
I didn't even mentioned the maintance. So freakin' easy.
Actually the K4 is bigger than the Maxijet with the conversion in physical size.
All the MJ's from the 400 to the 1200 use the same motor block. They just use different impellers and housings for the various GPH ratings.
There are 2 conversion for the MJ. One of the kits comes with the small impeller and cage that produces 1600gph and the other comes with the small and large impeller with the larger producing 2100gph. Since all the MJ motor blocks are the same, the conversion can be used on any MJ.
I have 2 Seio 1500's which are true 1500gph pumps and also MJ 400-1200 and have a 2100 conversion on a MJ400. The output pattern is larger on the converted MJ but you can feel it moving alot more water than the Sieo 1500.
I have also had the K3 and 2 K 4's. For the money the MJ with the conversion whoops em all. The only real benefit of the Koralia over a converted MJ is the Koralia comes with the magnet and the MJ you either use the crappy suck cups or pay another $30 for the magnet conversion.
The topic actually started as powerhead for a 20G tank, so basically Koralia 3-4, and all the Seios are out of this category. I think the smallest Seios were designed for at least a 50G tank, but I'm not sure about that.
Koralia nano, 1, and 2 certainly smaller than any of the MJ's. Much more easier to hide them in the aquarium. If you buy a new MJ 400 you spend somewhere around 20.00 bucks + the conversion kit another 15-20.00 dollars, or you can buy a K nano for 25-30.00 bucks.
I'm on a budget, I'm sorry.
The other real benefit of the Koralia is the lower wattage, so the water will stay cooler. You might have a chiller, than you don't have to worry about that part.
Most equipments in this hobby are still using suction cups, so the magnets aren't the reason I'm buying these powereheads. I was looking for a small wide outflow powerhead for a nano tank, and I'm glad I found it. Magnets are a plus for me.
Besides all that, Maxi Jets are great power heads, but I found the Koralias more efficient when it comes to water circulation ,specially in smaller tanks.
if he allready has a maxi jet 900... 20 bucks more will make his MJ out-perform a koralia nano... BY ALOT!!!!... if it's too much he could just face it a certain way or something... i know the MJ 1200 is under 300gph... but with the upgrade it bumps it to almost 2,500gph at times... that's a huge upgrade...
