Fixing a flow deadspot.. ideas?

[newbiecarlz]

I have had my 12gal cube setup for over a year now. I have two powerheads, the stock one and one facing out of the intake grate.

 

The problem is I'm not happy with the flow I get in the lower front 'bow' section of the cube. Due to my aquascaping (see pic), I get a dead spot at the front which is leading to minor algal issues on the sandbed. I'm hoping to put some more corals on my sandbed in this spot, but need to rectify the flow problem first!

 

Obviously I could just whack an extra powerhead into the display, but this looks really ugly. I could also try to bury it in my rock, but it is still visible and I dont like it!

 

The only option I can think of is to add another powerhead in the back, and run a piece of tubing over the back wall down into the display and have a nozzle pointing at the front wall. Anyone done this before? ideas? suggestions?

 

thanks!

[SeanB]

You could do a closed loop.

[Diatome]

You have the flow on both sides point toward the front of the tank. I tried that once in my 12 and it didn't last more than a couple of hours. Your problem is, the two are meeting there and creating the dead spot. You need a circular motion and just the one outlet creates that. If you want better flow, point a power head so the flow goes from left to right in the picture you posted, not topward the front. blowing water through the grate defeats the purpouse of the grate itself. My tank works fine with just the one pump. I ditched the other because it was just in teh way no matter what I did. Though you could use it to break the surface in the rear compartments.

[stoney waters]

You could try a Hydor Flo. I have two of them rotating in my 12 gal and haven't noticed any dead spots.

 

Stone.

[gil716]

I believe steelhealr has done something like you said. He threw in an extra pump and ran tubing up and over the rear wall. Here's a link to his monster thread. I don't know which page it's located on though.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...3075#post593075

 

Personally, I decided to drill a hole for a bulkhead at the top center of my tank and added a hydor flow.

[newbiecarlz]

Thanks for the responses guys.

 

SeanB - I'm not too keen on a closed loop because I cant see the advantage unless I drill the tank, which isnt going to happen since its fully stocked!

 

Diatome - I have considered the two flows causing the deadspot, but i think that when I had the single flow it wasnt much better. In fact, because the two flows hit each other it causes 'eddys', or random flow, which is a good thing..

 

Stoney - Hydor-flo's look great, but I've never seen one in Australia! we miss out on alot of good stuff over here...

 

Gil- Im checking out Steelhealr's thread now.. thanks for the tip!

 

I'll keep this updated on what I end up doing..

[stoney waters]

newbiecarlz

 

Word of caution. More pumps mean more heat. Three pumps could possibly cause a problem.

[newbiecarlz]

Good point. Currently my temps run fine, but I wouldnt want to push it over the edge... and summer time is on its way! I may utilise the 2nd pump, or ditch it altogether and replace with something a bit more powerful.

[Agua-man]

I had the same thing happening in my 12g tank not enough flow and to many dead spots especially in the front section of the tank. I too considered adding more pumps but being that I run a 70w HQI MH lamp that on its own creates enough heat. Therefore, I dumped the original crappy pump the JBJ tank came with and replaced with maxijet 400, which pumps a lot less water than the original pump. The reason behind this is I use the MJ 400 pump for feeding and at night when the main pump and lights turn off. I then proceed to drill a whole right in the center of the tank and added a MJ 600. The water shoots straight into the front glass panel and then spreads to the sides. This creates enough water movement and no dead spots.

[Agua-man]

I had the same thing happening in my 12g tank not enough flow and to many dead spots especially in the front section of the tank. I too considered adding more pumps but being that I run a 70w HQI MH lamp that on its own creates enough heat. Therefore, I dumped the original crappy pump the JBJ tank came with and replaced with maxijet 400, which pumps a lot less water than the original pump. The reason behind this is I use the MJ 400 pump for feeding and at night when the main pump and lights turn off. I then proceed to drill a whole right in the center of the tank and added a MJ 600. The water shoots straight into the front glass panel and then spreads to the sides. This creates enough water movement and no dead spots.