Powerheads Primarily on Back Glass

[Stevorino]

Hey All!

I just moved homes and brought my 280g with me (72 x 30 x 30). In it's new placement, you will see down the tank's side glass as you walk into the home.

I'm contemplating moving my 4 MP40s to all be on the back glass so that you can see down the distance of the tank without being able to see cords/powerheads on either side glass.

I would love to hear experiences with large tanks and using only powerheads on the back glass. I'm nervous about deadspots throughout the tank with this kind of setup.

I'm also considering adding some overpowered return pumps and/or a Gyre on the far end to help eliminate dead spots. I know the returns can only do so much.

Thanks!

 

[exnisstech]

I recently tried it on my new 84x30x25 tank and couldn't get the flow I wanted using mp40s. But you may have better luck. It won't hurt anything to try. Maybe my rockwork was an issue.

 

[JonoH]

This is how i have set up my tank which is a similar size (see my build thread), i had them on the ends to start with, but wanted to hide them on the back wall, seems pointless having MP40's when you can see the entire pump on the outside of the glass!

I have found the flow to be great, almost too much in some aspects as it bounces off the front glass a lot more than before.

The ends of the tank get less flow, which works well for corals that need this, so you may need to adjust the placement of some corals.

 

[tobster]

Hey All!

I just moved homes and brought my 280g with me (72 x 30 x 30). In it's new placement, you will see down the tank's side glass as you walk into the home.

I'm contemplating moving my 4 MP40s to all be on the back glass so that you can see down the distance of the tank without being able to see cords/powerheads on either side glass.

I would love to hear experiences with large tanks and using only powerheads on the back glass. I'm nervous about deadspots throughout the tank with this kind of setup.

I'm also considering adding some overpowered return pumps and/or a Gyre on the far end to help eliminate dead spots. I know the returns can only do so much.

Thanks!

I have the same issue when you walk in the door you see the side first. My tank is only 5’ long and I am running a Red Sea wave maker and an mp40. I was not successful trying to mount to back glass because the flow was just too strong.
Would like to know if you figured that out. Good luck!