# Powerhead for 135 gallon.



## kkiloh (Jan 22, 2015)

I have recently entered into the cichlid world and bought myself a 60x30x24 tank. It has been running for just over a month. I have a fx6 running but not sure if I will need more movement in the water? I did have a jebao rw15 but I felt that it was to strong for the fish (seem happier without it). I currently have a mix of african cichlids. Do you guys have any suggestions?

Thanks


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## testtube (Jan 23, 2014)

Hi kiloh
I have a 125g African cichlid tank set up for around seven years using six Hagen 70 power heads to move the water around. For my money the Hagen power head is most durable one you can buy.  If you check the DIY section I have a post where I use my power heads to not only move the water around, but also as a cheap effective filter. :thumb: 
My daughter lives in Scotland also. How's the weather out there right now. :roll:


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

kkiloh said:


> I have recently entered into the cichlid world and bought myself a 60x30x24 tank. It has been running for just over a month. I have a fx6 running but not sure if I will need more movement in the water? I did have a jebao rw15 but I felt that it was to strong for the fish (seem happier without it). I currently have a mix of african cichlids. Do you guys have any suggestions?
> 
> Thanks


Whats the flow rating on the jebao? I have a 6ft 180 and I sometimes run a koralia 550 and the fish aren't fond of it.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

I run a Koralia 1500 in each of my 60" tanks.


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## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

Hmmmmm....

I have Hydor Koralia 850 in a 125 gallon 6 footer and a single powerhead is more than plenty.


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## firefighter5 (Nov 25, 2014)

My mbunas dont enjoy the movement at all..I removed mine.Fish are much happier. Try one and see.. But to the poster who had six in his tank,wow! Not overkill? Even if its not overkill I think that would just look gaudy but to each their own.


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## kkiloh (Jan 22, 2015)

I don't like the look of just the power head in my tank never mind having six :lol:. The weather is atrocious, wet and cold!

The jebao flow rating was between 1200-15000l/h but even on the lowest setting it seemed to give off some amount of power.

I might look into the Koralia, thanks guys.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

what is the set up with your FX6? Are you running a jet return or spray bar?

What are you observing that is drawing you to the conclusion that you think more water movement is needed?

I have a pair of 6' tanks, and the only circulation is provided by the sump returns - both have 4 adjustable jets.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Another option is to build a spray bar for your FX6. I have one on an FX5 and find it moves a lot of water.
viewtopic.php?t=239826
viewtopic.php?t=207687


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## kkiloh (Jan 22, 2015)

Im just using the fx6 as standard. The only reason I'm thinking I need a powerhead is for surface agitation. I seem to be getting a petrol looking film on the surface of my water. Never had this before with my other tanks plus spreading the water so the heat is equal in the tank is a bonus.

I dont think I'd manage to do a spray bar myself without messing it up!

Tried looking at the Koralia Powerheads but seem hard to get in the UK!


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## kkiloh (Jan 22, 2015)

I can only seem to find a Koralia Nano 900l/h powerhead.


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

kkiloh said:


> I can only seem to find a Koralia Nano 900l/h powerhead.


Wouldn't waste your time with that one its too small.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

I have a good amount of surface agitation in my 6ft 135gal and still get that oily sheen at the surface at times. I think it may have to do with the type of food you feed.


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## kkiloh (Jan 22, 2015)

I only feed them new life spectrum pellets once a day. Apart from the oily sheen the fish seem healthy so I'm at a loss if I really need the extra movement. I do a water change every 3 days so the oily sheen isnt always there. Its very tricky to know what the perfect powerhead is until you buy and test which can turn very expensive. Already bought and sold the jebao rw15, will need to find a middle ground powerhead seeing as I cant get the Koralite apart from the small nano might need to find other options! I have sepnt hours reasearching and at a dead end.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Just a little heads up. Your tank dimensions actually make for a 150g tank (imperial gallons) which is a 180 u.s 
My 60 x 18 x 26" tanks are considered 120g over here.
(not sure why tanks are sold in us gallons in Canada when we use the imperial system for everything else. I guess it sounds better)


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

kkiloh, I feed NLS as well and get the same sheen. I wouldn't be too concerned. I have a Koralia 1150 in my 6ft 135gal and it works great.


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## testtube (Jan 23, 2014)

firefighter5 said:


> My mbunas dont enjoy the movement at all..I removed mine.Fish are much happier. Try one and see.. But to the poster who had six in his tank,wow! Not overkill? Even if its not overkill I think that would just look gaudy but to each their own.


I agree that it doesn't look the way I want, but the filtration is great. And my tin foil barbs and silver dollars love the current. My mbunas also love the current. I have 3 large foils, half a dozen silver dollars, about a dozen or so mbunas, and two large catfish, one of which is a pleco. Below is my post about how I made DIY filters for the power heads. I must say that since I have switched to this filtration method I have not had to do a tank tear down in years. I do however, do have to clean out the filter media at least once a week because it really pulls the gunk out of the tank. I also do a water change every 2 to three months where I replace at lease %50 of the water or more.


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

my mbuna seem to love a lot of current. I use 2 ea hydor koralia 1150's in my 75g, and have about 1100gph flow through my 3 canisters. With a timer, I have the hydors come on for 30 minutes every 2 hours during the day, and off at night. when they come on, the fish literally school up in front of them and swim. It looks like they enjoy it to me. 
Now, this next statement is highly subjective, but I will say that it seems that the additional energy they expend swimming into the current makes them more mellow overall. But again, that's not something I can prove...


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## Marshhog (Jan 27, 2015)

I just replaced two maxi-jet 1200's for two hydor korailia 1150's in my 5 foot, 110G. I am still experimenting with placement but my early impression is that I have too much flow. I think two 1150's could work for you. Don't waste your money on powerheads, circulation pumps are better at moving large amounts of water around.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Marshhog said:


> I just replaced two maxi-jet 1200's for two hydor korailia 1150's in my 5 foot, 110G. I am still experimenting with placement but my early impression is that I have too much flow. I think two 1150's could work for you. Don't waste your money on powerheads, circulation pumps are better at moving large amounts of water around.


I think it also depends on the type of fish in the tank. I have a Koralia 1500 in each of my 5' 120s' and I just bought another one for one of the tanks. I will end up with two on each tank and two Eheim 2217's. I'm keeping Tropheus in the tanks. Cyps would get blasted out of the water :lol:


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