Koralia

[coralreefer]

I've heard a lot of people talking about problems with koralias or stating they really don't like them. I just picked up one and want to hear a little bit about it before I add it to my refugium. I thought people could use this thread to share their experiences, good or bad, and help people decide if this powerhead is a good choice.

Thanks,
Tim

[Taklu]

Is this what you are talking about -

https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11363&prodid=21787&catid=3

Im interested to know too what peoples experiences are with this.. Im thinking to use this in my nano.

[sea monkey]

I think they had some quirks on the first production run but I'm pretty sure they got figured out. Same could be said for many products.


The only downside i can think of is they might not be enough flow on a really large tank or if you wanted the tank to be extremely turbulent. well i guess and they are not controllable but at that price point wouldn't expect them to be.

[mattb]

There is rumor that Tunze is suing them and supply may be tough once the wholesalers blow through their current inventories....

[gogregerson]

Is this what you are talking about -

https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11363&prodid=21787&catid=3

Im interested to know too what peoples experiences are with this.. Im thinking to use this in my nano.
This is what he's refering to: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4585+15955&pcatid=15955

[wolrey]

I've had my KH-1 for 6 months and haven't had any problems at all. I can't speak anything for the longevity of the product though...only time will tell that. I think it is perfect for my nano. It's very small and provides lots of flow for my tank. If you look in my build thread, you'll see a picture of it next to a MJ-900. A tunze nanostream or modded MJ wouldn't really work for me...both would give far to much flow. I've seen pictures of the larger models like the 4 next a pop can for scale....they are quite big. If you do some looking, you can find pictures of the larger HK in big tanks on reefcentral. To me, its all personal taste whether a person prefers the look of a HK, to a Tunze nanostream, to a Tunze stream. As far as service, Hydor did take care of the customers that had problems with the HK-3's shocking them. The pumps were replaced.

Jeff

[hypertech]

I've heard those rumors too, but everyone is still shipping. Fosters had them back ordered until pretty recently, so they are still getting shipments.

Taklu-

I've ordered the Koralia Nano (1/2 the size of a K1) for my nano. Its supposed to be available the 28th which is one day after the meeting, but I'll try to remember to post pics once it shows up.

[sea monkey]

There is rumor that Tunze is suing them and supply may be tough once the wholesalers blow through their current inventories....


Ive searched the normal tunze box for a patent number many times and never seen one , maybe the nano has one.

I believe the origin of prop driven pumps is hobbyists and documented on the net before tunze ever produced a unit. Hydor also has what id call an improvement with their unique suctioncup/magnet attachment. It might be hard for tunze to get a judge to force hydor to stop producing units until a trail is over. I don't really know anything about law though.

[mattb]

I'm sure it'd need to be on the nano... I've tried to search a bit on the USPO and it's not too good of a search....

[hypertech]

I looked for it. I did find a patent for a centrifugal pump (probably the one everyone is talking about).

http://www.google.com/patents?id=uw85AAAAEBAJ&dq=ininventor:tunze&as_drrb_ap=q&as_minm_ap=1&as_miny_ap=2007&as_maxm_ap=1&as_maxy_ap=2007&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=2007&as_maxm_is=1&as_maxy_is=2007

It expired 10 years ago.

[Taklu]

I've heard those rumors too, but everyone is still shipping. Fosters had them back ordered until pretty recently, so they are still getting shipments.

Taklu-

I've ordered the Koralia Nano (1/2 the size of a K1) for my nano. Its supposed to be available the 28th which is one day after the meeting, but I'll try to remember to post pics once it shows up.

I also have it on my shopping cart but havent placed the order yet...and since I alrdy have a powerhead turning the water..was wondering if the hydorflow deflector do the same job. two powerheads maybe too much for a 12g nano?????

[sea monkey]

for a patent to be valid and enforceable it needs to be on the packaging right ?

[Taklu]

for a patent to be valid and enforceable it needs to be on the packaging right ?


if its not valid... dont care whether its on the packaging or the underbelly :gay2:

[hypertech]

for a patent to be valid and enforceable it needs to be on the packaging right ?

I don't think so. You don't ever have to actually make one to get a patent.

A patent that old is valid 20 years from filing or 17 years from issue whichever is longer. In either case, that particular patent expired in 1997.

[mattb]

It's not the right one, these aren't centrifugal....

[hypertech]

I also have it on my shopping cart but havent placed the order yet...and since I alrdy have a powerhead turning the water..was wondering if the hydorflow deflector do the same job. two powerheads maybe too much for a 12g nano?????


You need a strong pump to use the hydor flo. It makes the flow very wide and also cuts it down around 20% (so I'm told I can't measure it but it is substantial.) You want to use the hydor flo to randomize the flo in the tank, not to add more flow.

[hypertech]

It's not the right one, these aren't centrifugal....

Then I didn't find it. I only found 3 patents held by tunze and none under other inventors assigned to tunze.

[sea monkey]

back when i was looking , i found a bunch of threads stating tunze didn't have a patent on the streams . General consensus was because prop driven pumps were already public knowledge via hobbyists.

I cant verify the accuracy of any of that but its what i found when i went looking : )

[Taklu]

You need a strong pump to use the hydor flo. It makes the flow very wide and also cuts it down around 20% (so I'm told I can't measure it but it is substantial.) You want to use the hydor flo to randomize the flo in the tank, not to add more flow.

Ok, I already have pump to pull the water thru the filters, little rubble, carbon etc... if I add a koralia... it would make it two pumps...so from that in mind I asked if it would be too much flow.

I was looking at the deflector to create the randomisation...but didnt know it would cut the flow to 20%!! :shocked:
Would the koralia provide randomisation?

[David Grigor]

It would be hard to believe they could get a patent certainly not for the concept.

I remember around 2001-2002, reeftec ( or reeftek can't remember ) was the first to offer them long before Tunze streams became available. I bought one of them at the time. The guy make a aryclic little box and the propeller parts, you had to buy the pond direct drive pump to put in it.

I tried to find pics on the net of it but all of them are dead links now.

They fizzled when the shaft of the pump used started to corrode from the sea water. It was only designed for use with ponds/freshwater.

Like most things there was great demand for it at the time but being just a hobbiest he quit making them due to time and the effort involved. SeaMonkey can certainly relate to that one.....

I'll keep looking for a pic.

[David Grigor]

Here is the best I could find. Reeftec was the name.......

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/june2002/review.htm

[hypertech]

I meant it cut it down by 20% meaning that it seems like you get about 80% of what you got without it. Mine was dismal on the stock return. 1/2 the tank seemed to be standing water.

The standard Koralia doesn't oscillate, so it would only create randomization if it collided with the flow from the other powerhead causing turbulence.

I upgraded my stock return and put the hydor flo on it to get the wavy action. I am going to add the Koralia Nano as soon as it comes out to give a little more flow to the spots the hydor flo doesn't hit and to have a backup in the tank in case my main pump breaks.

[Taklu]

I propose again lol to have a nano section on TCMAS

[sea monkey]

anyone have a nano box around so they can look for a patent number ?

[spectrum]

I just bought a K3 and K4 for my 75G reef they wook great so far.

[Zibba]

I've been using a koralia 2 for awhile - it's a great little pump - haven't had any problems with it. I would highly recommend them. Its great that they come with magnets to attach through the glass - gives it a much sleeker profile.

[wes]

yeah, I freaking hate how suction cups always fail...

speaking of these lil' puppies, I dropped the shaft down the drain tonight whilst cleaning, does anyone know if they're good with customer service?