Happy Home

It all started with a 55 gallon tank. My wife and I found a deal on a tank that had all the bells and whistles. The tank had a wet-dry and under gravel filter. It also had an ultraviolet sterilizer that we didn't know much about. We set up the [saltwater] tank and it all started. The long road to make a happy home.

The tank has two power heads on the under gravel filter. They each pumped 300 gallons per hour (GPH). The wet-dry had a pump on it that pumped 600 GPH. So the water being pumped was 1200 GPH. The recommended pump flow is 6 times the gallon amount in the tank. So in this tank we only needed 300 GPH. We were way above the recommended level.

Once the tank was cycled we began catching our own fish. We brought fish home and filled our hospital tank. Then we filled two hospital tanks, so finally we brought fish home and put them directly into the 55 gallon tank right out of the sea. Guess what? We had no problems. I am not saying that this is something that's recommended, but this tank held up under the pressure of the new fish. So, after four years of a low maintenance tank, we added an additional 150 gallon tank. This is where the fun ended for the summer.

We purchased this tank new at one of the three big saltwater fish stores. It was not set up with enough power. Taking the advice of the fish store owner, we bought the setup he recommended. We cycled the tank in a slow mode. In about two months we started adding fish. Now that summer was coming we had 7 fish in the tank. We went diving and brought home some fish and put them in the hospital tank. After three weeks we put them in the 150 gallon tank. They got sick. One or two would die, then the tank would come back. We added more fish and they would get sick. One or two more would die and so on and so on. This went on all summer until finally we got it right. I knew what the problem was, but I went to the fish store where I bought the tank to see what they would say my problem was. After speaking with the same person that sold me this $1,000 setup, he told me that I don't have (you guessed it) a big enough pump. He told me that I should buy the next size pump that sells for $175 and take my six-month old $125 pump off and use it as a spare. Here's what I did. I put in an under gravel filter with three power heads. I had also discovered that the under gravel filter helps keep a healthier bottom environment. When you use a wet-dry filter it is recommend, by most, that you don't have a lot of rock on the bottom and if you must have something, put a light covering of fine sand. The problem is that the power heads and the tubes don't look very good in a $1,000 tank, but it's better than having a sick tank. So, now in the tank, I have a pump that does 675 GPH, three power heads on the under gravel filter that do 300 GPH, or 900 GPH through the under gravel filter. I now have 1575 GPH when the book says I only need 900 GPH.

From all of this I think I have learned enough that excess water flow is much better than not enough. When setting up a tank now, I put in more than the recommend water flow. It seems to lead to a happier home and a lower maintenance tank. The best way to buy a new tank is to know what you want before you even go to get it and then tell the salesperson what you need. The best way to determine what you need is to ask someone who has had this problem before and has worked it out. That's a good reason to be a part of the Tampa Bay Aquarium Society.