Do I have a flow issue? If so, what do I do?

[beesnreefs]

TL;DR: I've had this trachy for about 2 months now and overall it seems to be doing fine. Except for one issue - about 75% of the time over the past few weeks the front looks like it is smooshed back into the center of the coral. I'm wondering if this is related to the flow in my tank and, if so, what I can do about it.

Full Story: I have a JBJ 65g AIO using the stock return pumps which, I believe, run at around 400 ghp each. I also have two IceCap Gyre 2k's to add cross flow. When I set up the tank the flow from the returns was so powerful against the front glass it blasted all the sand away from the front area of the tank. Changed out stock return nozzles for random flow nozzles and the sand issue disappeared.

Fast forward, got this trachy about 2 months ago. Over the past few weeks it's been looking like this late in the day and first thing in the morning:



As you can see, the front of it looks like it is smooshed back against the center of the coral. Notice the torch nearby as well - it is clearly getting more flow from the front than the back. Random flow nozzles on the returns did seem to help a bit but I can't seem to get this to stop. I'm a bit limited for sand space given my aquascape but I have moved the trachy around in the central lagoon with no substantive change. Here is what my scape looks like:

I've also tried moving the nozzles to point as far toward the corners of the tank as possible, as you can see in the image above, but that doesn't seem to matter either. For what it's worth, the trumpet/candy cane on the left of the tank also has a bit of a "blasted/smooshed" look to it. Those polyps definitely do not puff up like they used to.

On some days, the trachy puffs up enough that you don't really notice the smooshing in the front nearly as much. But this isn't every day.

Is this bad? What can/should I do to remedy this?

Is this a flow issue or is there something else going on with this coral I should be addressing?

Thanks! I always appreciate the great advice I get on R2R!

 

[dank reefer]

I am no expert on trachy's but it looks happy to me
#reefsquad Help a reefer out!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Trachy actually looks healthy
One tip I would give is to place on a shallow flat rock to keep it off sand and prevent sand from landing on it and irritating it. I do this with mine and they’re happy

 

[beesnreefs]

Trachy actually looks healthy
One tip I would give is to place on a shallow flat rock to keep it off sand and prevent sand from landing on it and irritating it. I do this with mine and they’re happy

Thanks!

I originally had it up on a plastic sand. To be honest, I hated the look of a plastic stand in the tank but also noticed the trachy flopping around on it a bit in the flow. So I moved it down to the sand bed. It is attached to a small rock and I've never noticed sand getting on it.

But maybe elevating it a bit off the sand would help...something to try.

 

[Brew12]

LPS in general do not like high flow. For me, the struggle is keeping flow high enough to make my SPS happy and still finding low flow areas for my LPS. If you do not have any SPS (I can't see the video) you may want to try reducing flow.

 

[beesnreefs]

LPS in general do not like high flow. For me, the struggle is keeping flow high enough to make my SPS happy and still finding low flow areas for my LPS. If you do not have any SPS (I can't see the video) you may want to try reducing flow.

Thanks for the comments!

I do not currently have SPS though I intend to add them in the future.

So I understand, you DO think the flow is an issue for this trachy and I should try and either find a lower flow location for it OR reduce flow overall?

 

[Brew12]

Thanks for the comments!

I do not currently have SPS though I intend to add them in the future.

So I understand, you DO think the flow is an issue for this trachy and I should try and either find a lower flow location for it OR reduce flow overall?

I can't see the video (streaming is blocked at my current location) and it is impossible for me to say based on the picture. My comment was more general. If you think your trachy and candy canes were more puffy before you may want to try reducing flow or moving them to a lower flow location.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Flow appears moderate and acceptable

 

[P-Dub]

I think your flow is fine. The only thing I might try and do is have it random so your Trachy is not getting constantly hammered from one direction. From the short video it seems to be getting blasted from one direction only, so...

 

[beesnreefs]

I think your flow is fine. The only thing I might try and do is have it random so your Trachy is not getting constantly hammered from one direction. From the short video it seems to be getting blasted from one direction only, so...

Thanks! I agree it looks like the trachy is getting blasted from one direction. I'm struggling to figure out how to fix that.

I did replace the stock return nozzles with random flow nozzles, and I have turned them to point toward the corner of the tank instead of the front. Still, it seems to send a good amount of flow at the front wall of the tank which bounces back into the trachy.

Do you have any suggestions for how I can better randomize and/or deflect the flow in a different direction? Maybe there are better random flow nozzles I could use?

 

[P-Dub]

Wavemakers, gyers, powerheads. I have a total of 7 in my 125. Lower the return flow and get a couple of programmable wavemakers is the best I can suggest.