75 Gallon Long Flow

[Chickadeedeedee]

Hey All,

I am currently in the process of cycling a 75 gallon (48" Long) aquarium. I bought 2x Hygger HG165-25W wavemakers for the tank. I have placed them on opposing sides of the tank, one blowing behind the rock work and the other in front.
These are some powerful little pumps and can go up to 2,600 GPH which would be a 70x turnover! I bought them thinking I could just turn the flow down to match the turnover I wanted. In my experience buying oversized and throttling down is usually better then buying undersized and being SOL. Turns out the controller is kinda terrible. I am only able to change the flow rate in the constant speed mode. In the variable modes (sine wave, random, etc) I am only able to change the frequency.

So then the question:
If I run with a variable mode would bursts of 2,600 GPH be too much for the tank or its inhabitants? I would try to match a 20xish turnover based on average flowrate.
Would it be so bad to go constant mode and throttle the wavemakers down to 20xish turnovers?

 

[UncommonSense]

Hey All,

I am currently in the process of cycling a 75 gallon (48" Long) aquarium. I bought 2x Hygger HG165-25W wavemakers for the tank. I have placed them on opposing sides of the tank, one blowing behind the rock work and the other in front.
These are some powerful little pumps and can go up to 2,600 GPH which would be a 70x turnover! I bought them thinking I could just turn the flow down to match the turnover I wanted. In my experience buying oversized and throttling down is usually better then buying undersized and being SOL. Turns out the controller is kinda terrible. I am only able to change the flow rate in the constant speed mode. In the variable modes (sine wave, random, etc) I am only able to change the frequency.

So then the question:
If I run with a variable mode would bursts of 2,600 GPH be too much for the tank or its inhabitants? I would try to match a 20xish turnover based on average flowrate.
Would it be so bad to go constant mode and throttle the wavemakers down to 20xish turnovers?

Some reefers around here go as high as 100x turnover inside the DT actually!

— I recommend giving it a real-world test to see how the tank inhabitants take to it; you can always throttle them down still if needed!

 

[Chickadeedeedee]

Some reefers around here go as high as 100x turnover inside the DT actually!

— I recommend giving it a real-world test to see how the tank inhabitants take to it; you can always throttle them down still if needed!

Thats great to hear! I will keep them rolling until I get some non-bacterial/non-algal life in the tank and re-access. Is there anything specific to look for in terms of flow being too high other than the obvious fish being thrown across the tank?

 

[UncommonSense]

Thats great to hear! I will keep them rolling until I get some non-bacterial/non-algal life in the tank and re-access. Is there anything specific to look for in terms of flow being too high other than the obvious fish being thrown across the tank?

Haha yeah fish looking like they’re in a tornado/cowering inside rockwork constantly is a good indicator!

some corals will be noticeably unhappy in excessive flow, you’ll see it!

 

[CBonito]

Thats great to hear! I will keep them rolling until I get some non-bacterial/non-algal life in the tank and re-access. Is there anything specific to look for in terms of flow being too high other than the obvious fish being thrown across the tank?

The fish will figure it out.

 

[Chickadeedeedee]

The fish will figure it out.

That's a gorgeous tank!! What parameters are you running on those wavemakers?

 

[Chickadeedeedee]

Haha yeah fish looking like they’re in a tornado/cowering inside rockwork constantly is a good indicator!

some corals will be noticeably unhappy in excessive flow, you’ll see it!

If my tank reminds me of one of those "is my filter too strong" posts I sometimes see I will turn it down haha
Example below

 

[CBonito]

That's a gorgeous tank!! What parameters are you running on those wavemakers?

Thank You!

They run on 13 second intervals with a 4 or 5 second overlap. The 3 in the back is at 80 percent and the 5 out front on the right is at 60. I have a third one but the magnet fell off the tank and I can't find it so its turned off for now. It's important to have enough flow that the detritus remains suspended in the water. Otherwise you'll get hair algae and higher nitrates and phosphates for one thing. You want to see when the pump turns on, the water basically rolling across the tank, hitting the far wall and then start to make its way back. That's the pulse length you need. overlap it with the opposing pump for a few seconds so the currents eddy, and then the other one will take over for 13 seconds and do the same thing in the other direction. This way you have lots of shear currents too and waves on the surface. A good current might also help with any possible anoxic areas in the sand under rocks and whatnot and it encourages good oxygenation/gas exchange.

The corals love it. They get a shift from side to side which cleans them and keeps their polyps extended and moving. You have to imagine a lot of the corals you would see for example on the fore reef where ocean waves suddenly hit this slope and all this water surges up this slope and crashes over them. That's a lot more than anything we've got. Naturally you dont want to blow corals over and make a mess, but within reason, a lot of flow is good. Watch the corals and they'll tell you if they dont like it. Goniopora, euphyllia and such might not and might need to be found a lower current area. SPS will definitely like it.

 

[Chickadeedeedee]

Thank You!

They run on 13 second intervals with a 4 or 5 second overlap. The 3 in the back is at 80 percent and the 5 out front on the right is at 60. I have a third one but the magnet fell off the tank and I can't find it so its turned off for now. It's important to have enough flow that the detritus remains suspended in the water. Otherwise you'll get hair algae and higher nitrates and phosphates for one thing. You want to see when the pump turns on, the water basically rolling across the tank, hitting the far wall and then start to make its way back. That's the pulse length you need. overlap it with the opposing pump for a few seconds so the currents eddy, and then the other one will take over for 13 seconds and do the same thing in the other direction. This way you have lots of shear currents too and waves on the surface. A good current might also help with any possible anoxic areas in the sand under rocks and whatnot and it encourages good oxygenation/gas exchange.

The corals love it. They get a shift from side to side which cleans them and keeps their polyps extended and moving. You have to imagine a lot of the corals you would see for example on the fore reef where ocean waves suddenly hit this slope and all this water surges up this slope and crashes over them. That's a lot more than anything we've got. Naturally you dont want to blow corals over and make a mess, but within reason, a lot of flow is good. Watch the corals and they'll tell you if they dont like it. Goniopora, euphyllia and such might not and might need to be found a lower current area. SPS will definitely like it.

Got it. This is really good information. So a max of 2600 gph on both sides is not totally ridiculous then?

I am going to start this tank with LPS. I guess I will have to just play it by ear a bit. Which wavemakers are you running? I think I eventually need to upgrade mine, but I want to wait a while. I have already dumped a lot of money into this thank haha.