60g cube flow

[painter1982]

I have a 60g cube. 24x24x24. Rockwork basically centered. Open all the way around and about half way up. I have 4 mp40’s available to use. The tank sits in a corner. The front and right side are for viewing. The back and left are tinted black. What is the best placement on these tanks for sps flow? I have substrate bottom.

 

[Ron Reefman]

You want all the water movers in your tank to total AT LEAST 10x the capacity of the tank. Take your 60g tank and subtract for rocks and sand, say 50g. Then add the flow from all the pumps (return pump and wave makers). so 500 gph would be a bare minimum. 20x which would be 1000gph is better. Some people with mostly sps takes go even higher.

Start with a lower flow and watch your sand for 12 to24 hours. It may move if you have pumps pointed in a direction that causes sand to move, you can adjust the aim of the pump.

 

[painter1982]

You want all the water movers in your tank to total AT LEAST 10x the capacity of the tank. Take your 60g tank and subtract for rocks and sand, say 50g. Then add the flow from all the pumps (return pump and wave makers). so 500 gph would be a bare minimum. 20x which would be 1000gph is better. Some people with mostly sps takes go even higher.

Start with a lower flow and watch your sand for 12 to24 hours. It may move if you have pumps pointed in a direction that causes sand to move, you can adjust the aim of the pump.

Thanks. I’m looking more for best placement in the square tank. I don’t know if a certain gph is best to go by.

 

[JohnNYC8]

Thanks. I’m looking more for best placement in the square tank. I don’t know if a certain gph is best to go by.

Flow can be a challenge in a cube but 4x MP40s move a lot of water. I have an internal overflow and I have two Octo Pulse 2 pumps staggered (one up high, one in the middle). This set-up works really well for me. They run a "ReefPulse" mode where they alternate push/pull to simulate a tidal action.

For an SPS dominant tank I'd personally put a gyre style pump along the top left side glass (or whichever side the lower pump on the back wall is) pushing water across the surface. You could use an MP40 on the side or even two if you want mega flow.