Powerhead help

[a bag of it]

Hey guys, I'm eventually going to need some more flow in my tank, so I'm doing some powerhead research. I have a 58g tank that measures 36"x18.5"x21". It seems pretty clear that vortech is the way to go, but I was wondering if I would be better off with two mp10s or one mp40. It seems that I would have more flow options with the two mp10s, but one mp40 would be more useful once I upgrade to a larger tank. What do you guys think? Would one mp40 be sufficient?

 

[Craigar]

I would do a mp40 if I were you

 

[Cake_Boss]

Why not 2xmp40?

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[a bag of it]

wouldn't two mp40's be way to much flow? (and $$$) According to the ecotech site, even at the lowest setting that would be more than the recommended flow for sps.

If I were to do one mp40, which side of the tank would it go on? The overflow is rectangular in the back left corner. I was thinking the right side (opposite the overflow) with my return nozzle facing the front of the tank (perpendicular).

 

[djkms]

2 MP40's on a 58g tank? Thats crazy talk Jamie, . I would say 2 MP10's or one MP40 would be plenty. We have 2 MP10's on our 72 gallon bowfront at the shop and there is plenty of flow (SPS dominated reef). If you go one MP40 I would put it on the same side as your overflow and return (assuming your return is coming out of the overflow pushing water away from it). This will give you a full turnover of water going back into the overflow since the undertow will bring the water back to the overflow.

If you plan on getting a bigger tank and it were me, I would do the one MP40.

 

[Zooid]

What does ecotech recommend for SPS?
I know some folks have 100+ times the volume of their tank for flow with SPS.
Two Vortechs at full speed is somewhere around 7000gph I believe which would be about 120x turnover.
That doesn't seem too excessive to me but others may disagree.

Whichever way you go, I'd go with two Vortechs so you can have some good flow options

 

[djkms]

hmmm I don't know Gale. I have 2 MP40's on my 125 and the flow sure does get cookin at 100%.

Some do say you cant have enough flow for SPS though. Wonder if they would say the same thing putting a MP40 in a 10 gallon tank at 100% :fear:

 

[a bag of it]

They're recommending 2030 gph which would be 35x the volume. I guess now that I look more closely, the minimum of two would be 2000 gph, so it is possible, but it still seems pretty excessive. Especially on a budget.

 

[Zooid]

hmmm I don't know Gale. I have 2 MP40's on my 125 and the flow sure does get cookin at 100%.

Some do say you cant have enough flow for SPS though. Wonder if they would say the same thing putting a MP40 in a 10 gallon tank at 100% :fear:

True enough.....I don't think I'd have the cajones to put 2 MP40's on a tank that small, but I'd love to put four on my 200g tank hehe.
Two on my 150g (5ft long) is just about right though.

 

[Zooid]

They're recommending 2030 gph which would be 35x the volume. I guess now that I look more closely, the minimum of two would be 2000 gph, so it is possible, but it still seems pretty excessive. Especially on a budget.

I'd say 35x would be a minimum right? I think you're probably right about two MP40's though. If you have a sand bed two MP40's might just turn your tank into a blender hehe.

 

[a bag of it]

Yah I think I'll start with one and if I feel it's necessary I can add an mp10 or something.

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[Cake_Boss]

I say it really depends on your rockwork, rock wall v. minimalist, to see how much your really need.

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[that0neguy1126]

Personally I would go with 2 x MP10's. as you get some nice options by having the 2.

A MP40 turned up to full in that tank would blast everything all over the place.

You could also mix them, 1 MP40 and 1 MP10, that would not be a bad way to go.

 

[lpsouth1978@msn.com]

I have 2 MP40's in my 90 and have them turned down to about 25%. I would say that unless you are planning on upgrading to a larger tank in the near future, go with the two MP10s. When you upgrade you can always get an MP40 to go with 1 or both of the MP10s. I love having the 2 vortecs, the anti-synch mode ROCKS!