Koralia's or Closed loop? Can't decide....

[ordy1]

I'm still in the process of setting up and am a little torn between setting up a closed loop or installing two Koralia 3's in a 46 gallon tank.

My return will consist of the output from a Little Giant 4MD-SC that's in my basement approximately five feet away.(four feet below the surface of the tank) I'm thinking of hooking in the output to my Lifeguard heater module, Lifeguard 25 watt UV, and 1/5 hp chiller and finally returning it to the tank. I'm having a hard time envisioning what the final gph on the return pump might be. I know that without going through anything else and at five feet of head the pump puts out approximatly 700 gph.

I'm thinking that if I do go with a closed loop I'll use a Sequence Dart. I'll install approximatly ten 1/2" tee's (reduced from the 1.5" from the Dart). Is it neccessary to utilize a diverting device like the Oceans Motions? Do most people just adjust the number of tee's and size of openings and allow them to run constantly, without diverting the flow?

Is the flow from the Sequence pump too much for my little tank? From all that I've read the more tee's you install in the Closed Loop the more the flow is retarded.

Thanks

Ordy

[pdlgirl1972]

My korilias are very large and obtrusive. If you can do closed loop it would look a lot cleaner.

[ordy1]

Yeah, I know what you mean. It's cheaper to run the power heads versus a Sequence Dart but I'm afraid that they'll occupy too much real estate in my small tank. Setups alot simpler though; just drop them in the tank, plug them in, and Voila! Instant flow.

Have you tried a closed loop like the one I mentioned? (ie. without the flow diverter).

thanks

Ordy

[JackRent]

I just put two koralia 3 in my 58 gallon and it is a huge amount of flow. They do take up room but are not as bad as I expected. I decided against a closed loop because of the extra energy draw.

[ordy1]

bump

Ordy

[den4051]

I have two koralia 4's on my 90 gal. I was deciding between the Koralia's vs. getting another Seio 110. After getting the placement just right a I was vary impressed with the type of flow it was producing.

[jacmyoung]

The Tunze Nanostreams are smaller than Koralia pumps, the pic below is nano vs K4, the nano nozzle is cutback about 1/2" so the stock nano will be a little longer:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/578/168656025_K4.jpg

Tunze will sell a deco rock for nano pumps soon, it will attach to the magnet holder and cost you another $40 making it a little over $100 compared to $40 for a K3, but blend the nano in with live rock. So it comes down to cost vs. aesthetics.

The Nanostream 6025 can be easily modded to pump out 1,250gph and draws only 7W, the K3 pumps 850gph with 10W and K4 is 1,200gph at 12W.

Only do closed loop if there is no other option, too much energy consumption and heat added.

[ordy1]

Thanks for the responses.

That pic of the two powerheads is great. The Tunze nano stream is that less gph than the Koralia 4? A Koralia 4, from what I've been reading, is too strong for a 46 gallon tank. Espeacially if I'll have two pumps, one on opposite ends. I was thinking of a K2 or K3. Two pumps would give me between 1200 and 1700 total gph from the power heads. Assuming I use two.

Thanks again.

Ordy

[mikeosoft]

I have two K3's in my 40breeder. They were a nice upgrade from the previous Seio 1100's (much quieter, more efficient and a wider flow stream).

With that said I really with I would have drilled the tank for a closed loop. My favorite part of having a sump is hiding the equipment and I have these two huge powerheads in the tank.

[jacmyoung]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9797412#post9797412 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ordy1
Thanks for the responses.

That pic of the two powerheads is great. The Tunze nano stream is that less gph than the Koralia 4? ...Thanks again.

Ordy

I thought I was clear. A nanostream with a simple mod will give you the same flow as a K4 but draw only 7W not 12W, much less heat in the tank.

[8BALL_99]

It really comes down to you and what you like and dont like.. I vote closed loop because I HATE powerheads in my displays.. Both my large tanks have no PHs. They look bad to me and if you hide them behind rocks they are a pain to remove and clean. I run closed loops with Oceans Motions on both my 92 and my 180. I do use Koralias and Seio's in my frag tanks though. I don't really care how they look since they are in my Equipment room and they have eggcrate in them anyway. I like the Koralia pumps alot better then the Seio's but the Koralia's do stick out alot. IMO Two of them in a 46 bowfront would be an eye sore.

Powerheads are easy to install. If you only need one or two they probably will use less power then a closed loop. But powerheads look bad and are hard to hide cause they need to be removed and cleaned. Depending on the powerheads they can add alot of heat to the tank too.

Closed loops require plumbing. But they are easy to hide and if used with a External pump they wont add heat to your tank. Also you only need one pump to run several outlets in different places in the tank. They also make it easy to have water flow behind your rocks.

They both have their + - Really with a small tank powerheads probably make more since if you dont mind the way they look.

[HBtank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9790975#post9790975 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jacmyoung
The Tunze Nanostreams are smaller than Koralia pumps, the pic below is nano vs K4, the nano nozzle is cutback about 1/2" so the stock nano will be a little longer:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/578/168656025_K4.jpg

Tunze will sell a deco rock for nano pumps soon, it will attach to the magnet holder and cost you another $40 making it a little over $100 compared to $40 for a K3, but blend the nano in with live rock. So it comes down to cost vs. aesthetics.

The Nanostream 6025 can be easily modded to pump out 1,250gph and draws only 7W, the K3 pumps 850gph with 10W and K4 is 1,200gph at 12W.

Only do closed loop if there is no other option, too much energy consumption and heat added.

I'm curious how you calculate your GPH measurements....

[jacmyoung]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9798698#post9798698 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HBtank
I'm curious how you calculate your GPH measurements....

I didn't but people who did the same nanostream mods have used several different tests, including one that seemed very reliable, and came to similar conclusions.

Test on the K4 mod however was almost impossible so we could only guess. K4 can be modded with a Maxjet impeller with a Octura 1240 prop trimmed down. It pumps out about 1,600gph and draws 17W. The concern is the K4 motor is rated 12W, long term health is unknown when it is over driven to 17W.

See the Tunze mod below:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1025361

And K4 mod below:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1023416

[8BALL_99]

I think the way they rate these propeller pumps is a little questionable anyway.. I've played with a few even the Icecap Vortex.. There is noway a vortex moves anywhere near the same amount of water as my Dart but they are rated about the same...My Dart also has alot of plumbing infront of it so its not pushing its rated GPH either and still seems to move more water..

Same goes for my K4 Its not a bad pump and I like it.. But I wouldn't go by its Rated GPH.. Just add pumps till you have enough flow and don't worry so much about GPH..

[jtarmitage]

Use a closed loop to keep the obtrusive powerheads out of the tank, you will notice them on a 58 gallon tank. Try using the Sequence Snapper on the CL. Still puts out 2500 gph, while only using 98watts.

[hahnmeister]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9798252#post9798252 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jacmyoung
I thought I was clear. A nanostream with a simple mod will give you the same flow as a K4 but draw only 7W not 12W, much less heat in the tank.

Do you have any info on this mod? Link? Pics? Etc... sounds interesting...

[jacmyoung]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9807152#post9807152 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hahnmeister
Do you have any info on this mod? Link? Pics? Etc... sounds interesting...

Links for both pump mods are posted above.