How to use wavemakers

jimpeachey · Jul 24, 2014

Hi,we are pretty new to this but want to make sure that we do things right! We have a 190l Aquareef one and i have 2 3000lph wavemakers (All Pond Solutions), they are nether adjustable in terms of flow or time on/off. Having never used these before it seems they are too powerful (although admittedly i have no idea) with the soft corals seemingly battered about. There seems to be many different opinions about lph vs the tank size (this one does have quite a large sump too) just how do you know if they are right or on for long enough. Do i leave them on 24/7 or turn them off at night? I just do not want to damage the soft corals there so any advice greatly recieved. I have searched the threads for a while and although there is a lot of talk about this i cant seem to find the answer i need.

tyler1503 · Jul 24, 2014

It's a bit outdated but the general rule of thumb for flow is 40X+ for SPS, 30-39x for LPS and 20-29x for softies and fish only. That's how much of the complete water volume in the display is turned over by the powerheads per hour.
You have about 15x just from those powerheads and then the return pump from the sump on top of that. So I'd say your pretty good for flow, but if you think you have too much flow you can try taking one pump out or replacing it with something smaller. Better yet, keep them both in there, but try to angle them in a way that doesn't pound the corals with water. You want your softies just gently swaying in the current.
Also, leave them on 24/7

jimpeachey · Jul 24, 2014

Thank you very much, Could youjust explain SPS and LPS, i got the gist of softies of which we have a few.

tyler1503 · Jul 24, 2014

Oh sorry, SPS are they ones that you see mainly a skeleton of. They have tiny little soft bits that come out to feed and can often look a little bit like a tree without leaves. Google acropora (acro) and seriatopora (birdsnest) for an example. They normally need high quality water and can be difficult to keep alive. LPS also have a skeleton, but the main part you see is a large fleshy bit on top and generally are accepted as being a easier to look after than SPS, but harder than softies. Check out euphyllia (hammer corals, torch corals and frogspawn corals all belong to that family) and caulestra (candy canes) for an example