How well does Tunze Stream work?

[callmedrlove]

Hello all, this is my first post, so go easy on me I'll give a rundown of my setup thus far to introduce my question. I have a 65 gallon acrylic tank with a coralife powercompact flourescent 260 watt light. In it is ~80 lbs of live rock, and around 3-4 inches of aragonite sand all around the tank. The rock is set up in a C formation, running along the back and both sides. At any given point the rock is no closer than 4" to the tank walls. Honestly I think I have too much live rock, as this is the only way I could fit it all in without just piling it up into two overlapping rows. The current inhabitants are a firefish, a six line wrasse, a yellow tang, two clownfishes, a banded coral shrimp, and 6 snails. I have no corals yet, but this is only because I am new to marine fishkeeping and want to get used to it before I invest in something like a coral that's a bit harder to keep. I would also like to keep a bubble tip anemone if possible, but thinking about it, it may get a little too big to fit into this tank if I intend on adding any corals.

On the point of water circulation, right now I just have my filter return, which I customized by attaching a 3 1/2 foot long 1" diameter pvc pipe drilled with holes to spread the flow throughout the tank. In addition to this I have three 295gph maxi-jet 1200's that are on a timer to switch on and off alternatingly. Right now I'm finding it nearly impossible to get water flow throughout the entire tank. I get cynobacteria growth on a couple of the rocks, and mostly on the sand just about everywhere. And when this stuff gets on the sand there seems like no way to get it out of there! At least with the rock I can pick it up and pull it out of the tank, but on the sand it acts as a glue, making clumps of sand and cyano.

I am looking into adding additional circulation in the form of the Tunze stream (probably just one 6100...I'm not made out of money ) If anyone has used these pumps, do you think they would work well in my application? I'm really just wanting to get rid of this insidious cyanobacteria. I do water changes weekly with RO water. I feed sparingly, and make sure to not put in any of the juices (I use frozen food.) The only deficiency I know I have is the lack of a protein skimmer, which I am buying. Actually I'm just waiting on the skimmer till I figure out what type of powerhead/pump I want to get so I only have to pay one shipping fee. On a related note, the skimmer I plan to purchase is an Aqua-C Remora w/ Maxi-Jet 1200. Any suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated. I would even be willing to move around my rock if I thought this would help, but there's so much of it I don't know any other way to set it up while keeping at least 4" away from the walls.

Like I said, I really greatly appreciate any advice at all, even if it doesn't pertain to the subject. I am still learning, and I love to read any advice anyone has to offer.

[IrishStout]

. Circulation can be a major factor in the build up of cyano, especially if the system is nutrient rich and lacking a protien skimmer. Another factor could be the lighting. If your bulbs are old, the sprectrum can "shift" and probmematic algaes can become, well, a problem . The first step would be gettin a protien skimmer, which you are in the process of doing. From what I've read from other users of them, the Aqua C is a good hang on the back skimmer, but if you have a sump there are many more options available to you. But if HOB is the only way that you can go, that seems like a good choice.
As far as the ciruclation goes, a Tunze will move way more water than all of those maxi's combined. So if its in tank flow you are looking for then they are a great choice. I see that you are a student, and budgeting is an issue with most students (believe me, I know) you can also look at a SEIO 1100(or a higher flow model) to add more flow to the tank and it will save you some $$. Good luck and let us know how the tank progresses.

[IrishStout]

PS. Welcome to RC!

[callmedrlove]

Well thanks for the warm welcome! I really appreciate it One thing I failed to mention earlier was how old the tank was. It has only been running since early to mid September. The light and bulbs were brand new then, so they are about 1 1/2 to 2 months old. I also failed to mention that I don't have a sump. I built my own stand and designed it so that I have space for around a 20-30 gallon sump underneath as well as maybe a 10 gallon refugium, which I would love to add at a later date. The reason I haven't added a sump is not actually due to costs (thank goodness for student loans ) but rather I just don't know how to plumb one. I've tried asking around on some other message boards, and I'm no master plumber, but I can't get past one problem (and it's probably a pretty simple one.) Say I have an overflow in my tank (which I don't BTW, I would have to figure out how to add one with the tank full of water). The overflow leads down into the sump. The filter and stuff is in the sump. Then a pump returns the water to the tank. If the power goes out and I'm not at home, how do I keep the overflow from continuing to let water into the sump even though the pump is no longer returning water to the tank. It seems like there's a big possibility that water would continue to flow into the sump, overfilling it and spilling out into the floor.

About the SEIOs, part of the reason I was looking into the Stream was due to the fact that it has a wider area of flow than most powerheads. Does the SEIO also have a wider flow area (i.e. instead of just having a straight-line stream that's gonna peel the scales off my fish.)

[psyrob]

Get a better skimmer. I have the aqua c urchin and it has been very inconsistent and never really pulls out a lot of skimmate. If I had to pick one thing to overspend on, it would be the skimmer. Also, I have a 65 and my circulation is 1. return pump rated 500 gph 2. rio 800 with a hydro deflector and 3. seio 820. The water really moves well.

[IrishStout]

I would think the lights weren't a problem then If your tank is that young then I would say that the cyano is just part of your initial cycle. But I would still say that adding a skimmer is still a priority.

Pre-fabbed overflows are available at alot of online vendors so having the tank drilled for an overflow isn't a neccesity to add a sump. In order to keep the tank from overflowing because of a poweroutage isn't tough to do either. The first thing you can do is drill anti-siphon holes just below the water line to the plumbing that enters into the tank from the sump. What that does is allow the plumbing to draw air and break the siphon before the sump overflows.

The SEIO's do add a much wider area of flow than the maxi jets do. Depending on how many scales you wan't removed from the fish would be the determining factor on which size you would want to go with

One of the best features to this site is the search option(when it works if your not a premium member ) but take your time and do some reasearch. That will help you be successful in the long run more than anything else.

[alljap]

If you want to go with a tunze stream, try to invest in the controlable ones. I learned my lesson. You can do alot with the controlable one like increase / decrease the flow, set time for the cycles..... wave stimulate.
I went with 2 6080 and they are too strong and nothing I can do about it except poiting them to different directions or move the LPS around.

[callmedrlove]

psyrob - If the aqua-c line doesn't cut it, could you recommend a better Hang-On-Tank model?

IrishStout - I attempted to use the search feature, but like you mentioned, it didn't work. I see what you're saying about the anti-siphon hose, I knew the solution would be simple

alljap - If I do decide to go with the Tunze Stream, I will definitely go with either the 6000 or the 6100 model.

[Purple Haze]

You cannot go wrong with Tunze, period.