# Maxijet with Sure Flow1600 upgrade - 400 or 600?



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

So, in planning for my new square tank, I want to get a powerhead for more movement. I have been a huge fan of the Koralias, but I think it was Tony1928 who suggested that the Maxijets with the sure flow mod is more flow for the same price and uses less power, while having a smaller presence in the tank than the Koralias.

My question is, should I get a 400 or a 600 with the mod? The difference in specs is 110 to 160 gph before the mod and 1300 to 1400 after the mod. I am wondering why bother with the extra $ and power draw if after the mod the gain is < 10% when it's a 20% change in price? Can someone who's used this mod comment?

For reference, the tank will be this one: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/tank-journals-16/100-gallon-square-tank-4338/

30x30" footprint and 24" tall. Drilled and filtered with direct plumbed Eheim 2078.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

I am interested in the repsonse as well as I will be adding the same thing to my 90g. Also drilled and filtered with a direct plumbed Eheim 2075.


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## fkshiu (Apr 22, 2010)

Why don't you try both?

The nice thing about the modular nature of the maxijet mod is that you can easily and cheaply swap out another sized maxijet but still keep the mod kit.

That said, I suspect that with your sized tank and setup a modded maxijet 400 will be plently of flow. If you've never experienced a modded maxijet first hand, it can be quite a shock just how much flow these things spit out compared to a plain jane non-modded maxijet.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Hey guys, i had he maxijet 1200 with the kit and the flow difference was huge from stock. It provided enough circulation for my 400g tank just by itself. Bit of a whirlpool effect going on. It was a way less obtrusive than a similar flow Koralia for sure. I've had Koralias stop a few times on me for no particular reason. Never had a maxijet stop at all. The maxijet mod really does look the best with the magnet mount which of course will cost you a bit more money on top.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks, guys. I guess I'll start out with a 400 and move to a 600 if I need it. I don't need a whirlpool in there. And I was thinking that I needed the magnet mount to have flexibility in placement. There goes another $30.

And Tony, that's weird. I've been using Koralias for 3 years almost now and have never had one stop ever since I stopped messing around with it. And mine get clogged by a lot of plant matter. My 1 and 2 have been going for almost 2 years now, and my mini has been going for over 3 years, but that one has stopped on me, but I was always taking it apart and cleaning it and stopping it before. Now I don't ever touch it and it works all the time.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

I use all of these (HK 2, 3, 4, EVO4, modded Maxijet1200) and with a 1200, you get 6' of flow. The best an HK4 can do is 4' (ie. drop small pellets in front and they hit sand 4' away).

I'm getting the HK Magnum8 from another member soon, so I'll be trying that out in the new 220 fish with corals sw tank (not a true full-blown reef, but not a fish only either). This tank will have a strong focus on fish (13 tangs to start with) so lots of flow will be appreciated by these fish.

Anthony


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Anthony, so if you get such high output from the Maxijet why do you use the Koralia? The diffuse flow vs a more directed flow?


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

The Sureflows provide most of the current needs in my 210g reef, but they don't work on Wave timers, so I have 3 of the new HK EVO4s on the timer to provide alternating currents on a random pattern. 

In the fowlr tank, I have a Tunze 6060 and a Sureflow. On the ex-seahorse tank, I have a HK4 (its only a 30" x 24" footprint so don't need a Sureflow).

For the 4' 65 planted community, I use a HK2 or HK3, depending on what is my spare.

For the new 220, I will probably use a HK Magnum 8 as the main flow provider, along with a couple of spare HK4s to provide additional flow to create more disruptive flow patterns. If I get a Tunze Wavebox, then I may add that instead, but who knows.

The Sureflows are great for large tanks to "blow" lengthwise". The HKs are good for gentler flows when 5 or 6' is not available to dissipate the stream.

In the 210g reef, I have roughly 9800gph of flow if every pump is on at the same time. Yet, it does NOT look like a whirlpool in there.

Hope that helps.

Anthony


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

i was just going to make a thread today about how happy i am with my MJ 1200 with sure flow mod. i woke up this morning and all 13 of my clown loaches were playing in the flow, it was pretty cool to see. its crazy how much it puts out, flows right through to the other side of 6 feet.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

and the whirlpool effect is if you have it too close to the top of the water it will draw air from the top. you can see it here on this guys youtube vid YouTube - MaxiJet 1200 Tornado


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Hi Gary,

I think its just that the Koralia's build quality isn't quite as good as the maxijet's simple design. Not sure if that statement is making total sense to me now. LOL. I've had to take apart the Koralia's countless times to get the darn thing to move. Usually it involved just taking it apart and cleaning it or even just to wiggle things around a touch. Sometimes the Koralia's impeller assembly would catch on the edge of the housing or the bushing isn't perfectly aligned or cleaned. To me, it was just one more thing to go wrong. The maxijet's are nothing fancy, just a standard powerhead. It just works and I've never had one stop on me. The Koralia's flow is nice and diffuse though...which is why I still have a bunch sitting in my closet. Guess it really depends what you want to use them for.

Tony



2wheelsx2 said:


> And Tony, that's weird. I've been using Koralias for 3 years almost now and have never had one stop ever since I stopped messing around with it. And mine get clogged by a lot of plant matter. My 1 and 2 have been going for almost 2 years now, and my mini has been going for over 3 years, but that one has stopped on me, but I was always taking it apart and cleaning it and stopping it before. Now I don't ever touch it and it works all the time.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks for the input guys. The maxijet is for the plecos so it'll be mounted low with the magnetic mounts so the whirlpool wouldn't be a problem. It'll be directed over the rocks and through the wood I think. Since I've pretty much decided that I'm going to start with Geos and not discus, the directed flow vs diffuse flow shouldn't be a problem.

And you're right, sometimes I forget KISS. I don't want things to fail when I am away from home. I have that problem with an AC70 powerhead now in my 125. The guys at King Ed convinced me that I need that ugly filter device on the bottom to polish the water and keep fish from being sucked in, but in reality it just causes the flow to slow so much after a week the venturi no longer works so I'm going to keep the shroud on but ditch the filter cartridge.


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