Flow??? Is there such a thing as to much?

[Captain Nemo]

So i am wondering if you can have too much flow in a tank? I know that if your fish are slammed aganist the wall thats a bit overkill, but how do you know when you have just the right amount? I have a Koralia 4 and a Koralia 2 and 3 in my 80g. Is this enough flow? just wondering what you guys thought.

 

[GeoHawk]

I think it is all relative to what you are wanting to keep in the aquarium. I keep mostly SPS with some LPS. I turn the total volume of the tank over about 20ish times. If I was keeping more LPS I would tone it down some. I don't believe you can have too much flow for SPS unless you are pointing powerheads directly at them. LPS and softies I think its a game of looking at the coral a making adjustments. I have often been criticized of having my water flow through the fuge to rapidly though.

 

[Captain Nemo]

ok, i was just wondering , since I dont have any vortechs, just wondering in general about flow. I try to keep it random and one powerhead blowing to the overflow. Seems to keep most everything happy.

 

[btkrausen]

I have two Vortechs in mine, and I think even Reefcrest mode isn't enough sometimes, as I notice my pumps both run very slow for long periods of time (30sec). Thought about moving one to short pulse or something.

 

[Reef Keeper 18]

deff depends on w.e your keeping in your tank. My bta hates flow So I gotta keep it sota down(atleast around the anemone)

 

[Captain Nemo]

I no longer have a nem , so dont have to worry about that, just my clam. he dosent mind the flow. The SPS I have seem to like it and I dont have many LPS. I also shelter my zoas and softies with the rocks!

 

[m and m]

It depends on the coral, SPS can take alot but witrh chalices to much can rip the tissue right of the skeliton. , Ive seen it happen.

 

[swannyson7]

deff depends on w.e your keeping in your tank. My bta hates flow So I gotta keep it sota down(atleast around the anemone)

Hmmm...my GBTA moved into the direct path of one of my MP40s about a foot from the pump, but then my RBTAs seem to hide from the flow. The GBTA has been there for about 4 months and hasn't budged an inch. I think the most important thing is to have random flow throughout the tank without any dead spots. That way it will keep everything in suspension for nutrient export and prevent build up of detritus to throw off your parameters. Granted, SPS requires more flow than softies & LPS, but I've seen healthy SPS dominated tanks with relatively little flow as long as a bit of planning was used on pump placement to ensure no dead spots.

 

[Rockadile]

witht he kind of powerheads you have, i would suggest putting them lower in your tank and pointing them up. you will get better surface movement this way and a better undertow effect.

 

[swannyson7]

You could also look into putting them on timers for the random flow effect. I know the older koralias supposedly don't hold up to well with turning on and off..... but I ran a couple Koralia 4s on an alternating 5 minute cycle a couple years ago without any issue. Apparently the bushing wear out, but it's something that would probably be mitigated if you give the pump a vinegar bath every once in a while

 

[Troylee]

i guess you could have to much but you should be able to tell honestly just by looking at your tank... i personally have 20,000 gph on my 220 which is a bit extreme but my corals like it as long as there not getting directly blasted...lol

 

[KingRicky]

I am currently running 2 K-4's in my 75. I have them on a SEIO controller with no problems. The controller switches from 100% to 50% so it doesn't affect the Korilia's.

 

[pickupman66]

I have about 60x turnover in my 180 DT. I get 1500gph of it from the sump return, 3600gph from the closed loop and another 3600 from a pair of Koralia 4's. seen many successful SPS tanks with 100X turnover. for SPS, indirect flow is the best way to go. give an acro good light and flow and it will grow thick and tall.

 

[Michael7979]

As stated it depends on what you are planning on keeping in your tank.
But there is also direct flow and indirect flow. You don't want to blast the flesh off a coral but you want them to have all round good current.

 

[Captain Nemo]

Thank you so much for the anwsers guys! I really appreciate everyones input on this!!

 

[raymond]

as long as everything is happy and the lps arent tearing them selfs apart there is no such thing, now i think on some softcorals there is, cause some seem to ride the current like a surf board leaving babies were eever they have been

 

[aalvarado87]

i dont think there is such a thing as to much flow. The way I look at is if there is observe your tank if everything seems to be happy then you have enough flow. If your corals have their polyps exteneded like they should then your tank is just fine. My 48x24 was doing fine with a mag 12 return and mp40 on full blast. I since have added another mp40 and use mostly reef crest. But i think koralias can get the job done jsut take more of them

 

[toejam]

My 40 gal breeder with frags and zero substrate has two modded mj1200 and a mj 900. Thats 70x turnover. The water is almost flying out of the tank at this point. My 180 has a return on one end from a dart into a sea swirl the other end has a magnum 8. Thats only 45x turnover and I cant keep my substrate from flying all over the place. I cant see anyone doing more that 50x with substrate. Bare bottom yes. Vortechs are random flow. I doubt they run 24-7 at 100 %. Compare a magnum 8 to a mp40 at 100%? Which would move more water? They say they are good at moving water up to three feet?

 

[aalvarado87]

wiht mp40 it all depends on what mode you want to put them in. If you check out their site you can see their si a ton of functionality to them you can set them at 100 percent and let htem go my only issue would be the longevity of the powerhead running like that. I think that this would kill the powerhead none the less man do you have a ton of flow in that tank.