75 gallon flow

[Cephalo]

Hey all, looking for some insight into what I should do for flow, currently have a single reef wave 25 at 40% which seems to push things too much that are close to it and not enough for things on the other side, looking for opinions on a good solution or if I should just get a second one on the other end and turn them both to 20%

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I always suggest 2, that way you can point them towards each other so they reflect into random patterns. One powerhead means a one way linear flow leaving lots of dead spots.

 

[Formulator]

Hey all, looking for some insight into what I should do for flow, currently have a single reef wave 25 at 40% which seems to push things too much that are close to it and not enough for things on the other side, looking for opinions on a good solution or if I should just get a second one on the other end and turn them both to 20%

I agree that 2 pumps is ideal. That said, why do you say the flow is too strong near the powerhead? I don’t see any coral in there. If you are just judging by your own perception of flow using your hand, you may be surprised at what most coral can handle and prefer. Also, clownfish are notoriously poor swimmers and will find their happy space away from the pump, so don’t judge based on their behavior either. I guess what I’m suggesting is that you could turn the pump speed higher to get flow to cover the entire tank and it likely won’t bother anything.

 

[Cephalo]

I always suggest 2, that way you can point them towards each other so they reflect into random patterns. One powerhead means a one way linear flow leaving lots of dead spots.

Sounds good, I know my zoas in the middle of the tank don’t like when the one is above 50% so probably a second one and lower settings would do good?

 

[Cephalo]

I agree that 2 pumps is ideal. That said, why do you say the flow is too strong near the powerhead? I don’t see any coral in there. If you are just judging by your own perception of flow using your hand, you may be surprised at what most coral can handle and prefer. Also, clownfish are notoriously poor swimmers and will find their happy space away from the pump, so don’t judge based on their behavior either. I guess what I’m suggesting is that you could turn the pump speed higher to get flow to cover the entire tank and it likely won’t bother anything.

It’s hard to see but there was some zoas on that center rock and at 50% it ripped them clean off the plugs and there was some smaller ones on the rock on the right which got almost no flow

 

[Formulator]

Sounds good, I know my zoas in the middle of the tank don’t like when the one is above 50% so probably a second one and lower settings would do good?

I would definitely recommend a second one for the reason @Mr. Mojo Rising mentioned, but not sure you need to turn them down too much. I didn’t see the zoas, but yes you can let them tell you when the flow is too high.

 

[Cephalo]

I would definitely recommend a second one for the reason @Mr. Mojo Rising mentioned, but not sure you need to turn them down too much. I didn’t see the zoas, but yes you can let them tell you when the flow is too high.

Thank you, yeah they aren’t very large so it’s kinda hard to see them from that angle, I had a good cluster of 8-10 large polyps and having it above 50% to try and get flow on the other end ripped him off the plug

 

[Formulator]

It’s hard to see but there was some zoas on that center rock and at 50% it ripped them clean off the plugs and there was some smaller ones on the rock on the right which got almost no flow

As you discovered, there will be areas of lower and higher flow in your tank. This will happen regardless of how many pumps you have and we utilize these areas to our advantage by strategically placing our corals in areas that meet their specific flow requirements. So it will be a good idea to get your pumps dialed in and make a mental map of where the different areas of low and high flow are. Then you can put your soft corals in the lower flow areas and any future SPS or other high flow loving coral in those areas.

 

[Cephalo]

As you discovered, there will be areas of lower and higher flow in your tank. This will happen regardless of how many pumps you have and we utilize these areas to our advantage by strategically placing our corals in areas that meet their specific flow requirements. So it will be a good idea to get your pumps dialed in and make a mental map of where the different areas of low and high flow are. Then you can put your soft corals in the lower flow areas and any future SPS or other high flow loving coral in those areas.

Sounds good, if I’m understanding this right I should get the second one and find a good setting to get some form of flow everywhere and map out where I’m getting high - medium - low flow and place accordingly

 

[Formulator]

Sounds good, if I’m understanding this right I should get the second one and find a good setting to get some form of flow everywhere and map out where I’m getting high - medium - low flow and place accordingly

Yep, exactly.

 

[Seansea]

I just bought the maxspect gyre cloud edition that you can direct flow all over. Absolutely love it. Controller is mostly easy to use. Wifi hooked up easy for me. I highly recommend

 

[Cephalo]

I just bought the maxspect gyre cloud edition that you can direct flow all over. Absolutely love it. Controller is mostly easy to use. Wifi hooked up easy for me. I highly recommend

Thank you I’ll look into that, I heard they are a pain to maintenance though

 

[topjimmy]

On my 75 I have two Nero 5 one on each side. They are set up to have one on 70% for 6 hours and one on about 1%. Then they swap. This sets up a gyre type of flow.