- Where should a power head be placed in an aquarium?
Finding the right spot for a power head
or wave pump in your tank
can depend on a number of different factors.
For example, gyre pumps tend to do best up near the surface
while propeller pumps often provide
better flow when placed further down.
The shape or dimensions of your tank also come into play
along with whether or not you have substrate.
The placement of other structures
within the aquarium like your rock work are also a factor.
So how do you decide on the best spot
or even spots for your circulation pumps?
Well, I'll go ahead
and let the cat out of the bag right now,
no matter where you place your pumps
in your tank to start with,
there is an extremely high likelihood
that you're going to end up
adjusting their placement over time.
if not right away, certainly as your tank
starts to fill in with corals,
or if you notice spots where debris starts collecting.
So I guess what I'm saying is, instead of telling you,
this is where you should put your pumps full stop.
I'll show you a really great starting point
for where you can place your pumps,
as well as what to look for to see
where you might be able to improve your flow
and where you can make adjustments
so you can get your flow perfect for your tank.
I'll also give you a super solid trick
that lets you literally see the flow
inside of your tank without the use of these little beads.
Which can be super helpful
for identifying those low-flow areas
before they become a problem.
First off different styles of wave pump
are going to perform best
in different places in the aquarium.
Like I was mentioning earlier, gyre pumps tend to do best
when placed horizontally across the top of the tank,
just below the surface of the water,
usually on either end of the tank.
On the other hand, propeller pumps
that create a wide cone of flow
tend to perform best when they're somewhere
within the middle third of the tank's height
and placed either in front of or behind
the rock structures inside of the aquarium.
There are also specialized pumps
that allow you to change their flow characteristics
and in turn, where their optimal placement should be.
So first and foremost, check your pump's user manual
or quick start guide and follow those recommendations
to pick a suitable position for that particular pump.
The next step is to figure out
where in your tank you need the most flow.
The obvious answer for a reef tank
is where the majority of your corals are,
which is typically in front of your rock work.
But you may also find that you'd like some flow
behind your rock work as well,
to help prevent debris from settling there.
Maybe your overflow system and return pump
don't create as much surface agitation as you'd like.
And having a pump to ripple the surface
for better gas exchange is also a priority.
Identifying areas like these that might need more flow
will help you decide where your pumps
will need to be placed, which will also help you figure out
how many pumps you might need.
With a rough idea of where you want to add flow,
and the number of pumps you need to use in your hands,
you can start placing them
across from those areas that you need to target.
Now, with that said,
I do have a preferred pump placement configuration
that I generally use, regardless of where I think
I need flow in the tank that generally nets me
some really great results that I can build off of.
So I'll share those configurations with you now
using one, two and four propeller style wave pumps
to give your corals what they're looking for.
Then I'll touch on some other great placement ideas
to tackle surface agitation and keep detritus suspended
so it makes it into your filtration system.
With a single pump, your best bet is to place it
on the end panel of the aquarium
furthest from the return from your filtration
about halfway down and about halfway
between the front of the rock work
and the front panel of the tank.
This placement will get that cone of flow
out in front of the corals,
where it can help bring food to them
while removing waste and debris
and also helping to get as much water moving
throughout the entire tank as possible.
Don't be surprised though,
if you find yourself looking at
adding another pump down the line.
A single pump can work pretty well on its own
in smaller tanks, but as corals fill in and grow,
it becomes more difficult to provide enough flow
between those corals with just a single pump.
With a pair of pumps,
we're doing essentially the same thing,
but one pump will be placed slightly higher up
and offset towards the front of the tank,
while the other will be on the opposite end,
slightly lower down and offset towards the rock work.
With the second pump and a slight offset in both directions,
those cones of flow will fill a larger area
while also colliding with one another
to create some random and chaotic flow patterns
in and around your corals.
If you're working with four pumps,
a similar offset placement is an excellent starting point.
On one side of the tank,
one pump is higher up and to the front,
while the other is lower and towards the rock work.
And on the other end of the tank, the pumps do the opposite.
The top pump is towards the rock work,
while the lower pump is towards the front panel.
You get the same benefits
as the two pump configuration, just doubled up.
With the pumps in the tank, you can plug them in,
give them a few minutes to start running
and circulating all of that water.
And then you can look around the tank,
check the corals to see which are getting enough flow,
which might be getting too much, or even too little.
Check to see if there are any patches of substrate
that are getting moved around.
And then you can make small adjustments
to the placement of those pumps
until you find that happy medium.
And you can literally visualize the flow patterns
inside of the aquarium by dosing a fluorescent additive.
My personal choice for this job
is Red Sea's AB Plus coral food.
You can pour that daily dose for your tank
into the pumps and watch how quickly it's dispersed,
where it goes first, if any spots take longer than others
to receive that glowing liquid.
And that could also help you identify low flow areas
or problematic spots that could use some extra attention
before they actually become a problem.
With your main flow pumps now in place
and delivering all of the flow
that your corals are gonna require,
you can then focus on added flow for things like
boosting surface agitation or keeping debris suspended.
If you end up finding that the surface of the water
isn't moving as much as you'd like,
or that your pH tends to be low,
adding more surface agitation
can help increase gas exchange and oxygenation.
If you already have enough flow inside the tank,
you could also dedicate the return nozzle
from your filtration to surface agitation
by pointing it upwards.
On the other hand, if you're finding specific spots
in your tank are piling up with mulm and debris,
you can place pumps on the back panel of the tank
towards the bottom or even the side panels,
but behind the rock work at the back of the tank,
rather than in front to help get those dead spots moving,
which will help keep that detritus
suspended in the water column,
where it can find its way into your tanks filtration system.
For those reefers with bare bottom tanks,
placing pumps in these areas is incredibly helpful.
Something else that's actually incredibly helpful
is knowing the seven major categories
of flow pump and how they're different from one another,
what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are.
So you can apply those pumps properly to your tank
and also buy the correct pumps from the beginning
to meet your aquariums goals.
And Ryan and Randy have an awesome video
breaking all of that down right here,
the Power Head Buyer's Guide.
Have a watch, it's honestly,
it's going to open your eyes
to the world of aquarium pumps and power heads
that you didn't even know existed
so that you can make an educated choice.
And that's the best kind of choice to make in this hobby.
Saves us money in the long run.
Check it out.