Do I really need a wavemaker for an 8 1/2 gallon tank?

[DebraLV]

I purchased a mini one and placed it near the top as my HOB Aqueon 100 gph had decent top flow but nothing like a wave. However it was disturbing the sand bed, even at the top so I had to return it. 

 

Now I'm thinking I should purchase again as I plan on 2 clownfish and I'm reading they like flow. Lastly I did order a Marineland penguin mini filter today. Will the biowheel create more of a flow or should I just buy a mini powerhead instead? 

[filefishfinatic]

8 minutes ago, DebraLV said:

I purchased a mini one and placed it near the top as my HOB Aqueon 100 gph had decent top flow but nothing like a wave. However it was disturbing the sand bed, even at the top so I had to return it. 

 

Now I'm thinking I should purchase again as I plan on 2 clownfish and I'm reading they like flow. Lastly I did order a Marineland penguin mini filter today. Will the biowheel create more of a flow or should I just buy a mini powerhead instead? 

get aquaclear 30 or 70, aqueon and marineland filters are very bad. you need at least 100 gph ideally with a large apertaure or 2 currents crashing into eachother. the biowheel dosent create flow. all it is for is nitrification hence the name, biowheel as opposed to flow boosting wheel. it holds nitrifiying bacteria

[DebraLV]

1 hour ago, filefishfinatic said:

get aquaclear 30 or 70, aqueon and marineland filters are very bad. you need at least 100 gph ideally with a large apertaure or 2 currents crashing into eachother. the biowheel dosent create flow. all it is for is nitrification hence the name, biowheel as opposed to flow boosting wheel. it holds nitrifiying bacteria

Thanks for your help.  I did read up on the biowheel holding nitrifying bacteria, but unfortunately after I purchased. Yes, I shop at Petco, but only for supplies. I will get my fish at my LFS when the time comes. I will order that Aquaclear powerhead today and keep the Aqueon as a spare in case of a break down. 

 

May I ask you what type of media should I put in that powerhead?

[M. Tournesol]

Wavemakers don't normally create waves. It's possible to create standing waves by making the wavemaker pulse in resonance with the aquarium, but this is not required to keep saltwater fishes or corals and is furthermore dangerous since this will put a lot of stress on the tank.

21 minutes ago, DebraLV said:

May I ask you what type of media should I put in that powerhead?

I don't understand this question. why would you put media in a powerhead/wavemaker?

[M. Tournesol]

OK,🤨 you were speaking about the Aquaclear powerfilter.

[Clown79]

You can use an hob filter. Many sw hobbyists do. There is nothing bad about them.. we just don't use the stock media as that designed for freshwater.

 

A biowheel isn't a good option for sw but you can remove them and run the filter that way.

 

The best hob is seachem tidal.

 

Now relying on an hob for water movement alone, usually isn't enough because the water drops downwards and doesn't spread correctly.

 

Personally i would get any hob designed for at least 20g and a powerhead. This will give you good flow plus you can run filter floss and carbon in it.

 

[M. Tournesol]

29 minutes ago, DebraLV said:

May I ask you what type of media should I put in that powerhead?

Generally in saltwater, we don't put biological media in a HOB since your biological filtration is your rock (and sand).
We only put filter floss, and chemical filtration (carbon, chemipure, GFO ... ).
some transform their hob filter into a mini refugium.

 

 

 

[PeterU]

8 minutes ago, M. Tournesol said:

We only put filter floss, and chemical filtration (carbon, chemipure, GFO ... ).
some transform their hob filter into a mini refugium.

I used an Aquaclear 110 modified into a refugium for years, had small chunks of live rock in it. Never used any other media at all. It also held my heater.

 

If I restart it I will probably use either an AC50 or 70 with an InTanks insert and Oceanbox Designs surface skimmer.

[Seadragon]

I agree with everything said except that activated carbon is optional unless you’re going to have leather corals or corals that release toxins, then yes, get activated carbon.

 

I don’t run carbon on my system, I also don’t have corals that release toxins and I have no issues keeping Pulsing Xenia alive.  Based on my research, if you desire to have Pulsing Xenia, I would not use carbon unless you’re going to regularly dose trace elements that include Iron and Iodine.  Otherwise you may just end up being another statistic of someone who mysteriously can’t keep Xenia alive, but regularly changes out their carbon.

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, Seadragon said:

I agree with everything said except that activated carbon is optional unless you’re going to have leather corals or corals that release toxins, then yes, get activated carbon.

 

I don’t run carbon on my system, I also don’t have corals that release toxins and I have no issues keeping Pulsing Xenia alive.  Based on my research, if you desire to have Pulsing Xenia, I would not use carbon unless you’re going to regularly dose trace elements that include Iron and Iodine.  Otherwise you may just end up being another statistic of someone who mysteriously can’t keep Xenia alive, but regularly changes out their carbon.

Lol. I ran carbon 24/7 and dosed only alk and ca in every tank i've ever had.

 

My xenia had to be pruned weekly. 

 

The key is that most over use carbon. They chuck a big bag in the filter, which is over kill.

 

I used 1-2 tablespoons only.

[Murphs_Reef]

12 hours ago, filefishfinatic said:

get aquaclear 30 or 70, aqueon and marineland filters are very bad. you need at least 100 gph ideally with a large apertaure or 2 currents crashing into eachother. the biowheel dosent create flow. all it is for is nitrification hence the name, biowheel as opposed to flow boosting wheel. it holds nitrifiying bacteria

You give me a sore head. Why are the bad?

[Tired]

All you need is a pump to move the water around, mostly for oxygenation purposes, a bit to keep detritus from settling too much. A single powerhead will work fine for many tanks, particularly a small one. In larger tanks, multiple powerheads may be required. Some corals need a lot of flow, some corals do best with multi-directional flow, but the average tank just needs regular ol' straightforward flow. 

 

Clownfish like to play in a high-flow area sometimes, but don't need any more flow than other fish.