Getting with the flow in my 650g DT

[gt44ever]

Glad to hear as I’ve been eyeing a set of 4 for my 600 build. My thoughts are to put them down low and put 1 Maxspect XF350 on each end up high.

That's similar to the halfway setup I had before I added the second pair. A ss18 on each side of the overflow (west end) mounted low with the xf150 high on the east end. Created a good gyre type flow regime across the tank. Little bit of dead zones around the lower rockwork on the east end but that's mostly due to how the sand drifted on me. I'd recommend aiming the ss18s just above level if you have fine sand like me. Keeps the lower edge of the cone close the parallel with the bottom of the tank . I also try to keep them about a foot off the bottom... "Try" being key here.

Ive now effectively replaced the gyre with a second pair of ss18s aimed slightly high since I have some surface film issues. Works pretty well, just have to sort the dead spots when I redo the rockwork over the next few months.

I will also mention that mounting the ss18s on 3/4" glass is a bit tricky because the magnetic field doesn't reach much beyond that. There was lots of falling off the glass followed by some cursing because my tank layout makes positioning solo very hard... Bring a friend and its not bad at all aside from figuring out how to get them to rotate right.
Id also let them hang by the cord before installing to let the cord straighten out. If it kinked the wrong way in the box, it can be a bit unsightly and makes aiming harder too. One of mine has a lot of cord in the water because I didn't do this.
One other little note, the light sensor for the night mode is on the controller. Some of the videos make it seem like it's a remote sensor but it's not. Thought I'd share since I was surprised by it.

 

[Hitman]

That's similar to the halfway setup I had before I added the second pair. A ss18 on each side of the overflow (west end) mounted low with the xf150 high on the east end. Created a good gyre type flow regime across the tank. Little bit of dead zones around the lower rockwork on the east end but that's mostly due to how the sand drifted on me. I'd recommend aiming the ss18s just above level if you have fine sand like me. Keeps the lower edge of the cone close the parallel with the bottom of the tank . I also try to keep them about a foot off the bottom... "Try" being key here.

Ive now effectively replaced the gyre with a second pair of ss18s aimed slightly high since I have some surface film issues. Works pretty well, just have to sort the dead spots when I redo the rockwork over the next few months.

I will also mention that mounting the ss18s on 3/4" glass is a bit tricky because the magnetic field doesn't reach much beyond that. There was lots of falling off the glass followed by some cursing because my tank layout makes positioning solo very hard... Bring a friend and its not bad at all aside from figuring out how to get them to rotate right.
Id also let them hang by the cord before installing to let the cord straighten out. If it kinked the wrong way in the box, it can be a bit unsightly and makes aiming harder too. One of mine has a lot of cord in the water because I didn't do this.
One other little note, the light sensor for the night mode is on the controller. Some of the videos make it seem like it's a remote sensor but it's not. Thought I'd share since I was surprised by it.

Thank you so much for that info!!! How long are the cords? ( Power head to control control to wall ) has your shark seemed to be bothered by the flow at all? I’m looking to do two bamboo sharks and two rays in this tank.

 

[gt44ever]

Thank you so much for that info!!! How long are the cords? ( Power head to control control to wall ) has your shark seemed to be bothered by the flow at all? I’m looking to do two bamboo sharks and two rays in this tank.

Cords are something like 6ft to the controller and then about 4ft to the power supply and another 3 or 4 ft to the plug.
Rocky Road, the horned shark, loves them. Hes also the main culprit for changing the aim. You'll see him perched on one earlier in the thread. He'll also sit on the bottom and let the flow run across his fins
Snickers, my bamboo, doesnt seem to care much. He's not as active though. I've heard some really like it and will kinda ride the currents across the tank.
I'll also mention that if they seem bothered by it at first, just let them kinda figure it out for a while. Rocky road seemed to not like all the flow after being in a fairly stagnant tank (before I started caring for the tank) for a very long time but since then hes really taken to it

 

[Hitman]

Awesome thank you. The tank will be another month before it’s fully ready as I’m still building the wall. ( link to this build in my signature) I have 300 lbs of rock and 6 of the large marine pure bricks already cured just need to finish everything else then I’ll order my sharks and rays. Would you mind if I contact you with shark questions when I have them? I’ve had saltwater tanks for 25 years just opening up to the predator side of the world lol

 

[Wassirral]

Hello reefers!
I'm looking to up the flow in my monster FO(WLR) tank. Most of the monster threads I've been through are using somewhere north of 4x 4000+gph powerheads for flow, granted mostly for reefs.

Currently I have this (controlled water flow shown along with a rough aquascape. Tank is roughly 10' long x 34" wide x 28" tall):

The only flow is from the return pumps, which I'm currently estimating about 3x system volume (750g) total flow from 2 pumps, so about 2250gph. They enter just under the surface. I have several braces that break the surface and have some definite stagnant flow between a couple of them.

My question is, where do I need to go with these big powerheads and what might be some good options for me (Gyre style pumps vs traditional impeller styles, concentrated flow vs broader more conical patterns, do lots of smaller pumps vs a few big ones, etc)?

I've tried digging around, but not finding a lot of similar setups with the end-to-end flow like this. I've seen a lot of side overflows and some creative inflows, and I don't have a good way to redo the overall circuit at this time.
Right now, I would likely do 4-6 powerheads (depending on power and flow shape) spaced across the tank in pairs just increasing the existing flow pattern (across top which should draw back along the bottom), but I'm new to all this so don't know if that's a good plan or if I'm just moving some water around with no real purpose.

Try the Jebao scp-180 cross flow pump. Thing is massive, for 160 bucks I guarantee all you’ll need is one of those, I have a 6 ft tank, had it and the lowest setting and had more flow than I was looking to get. Up to 9600 gph this thing could literally be used to create a miniature river

 

[crabbydan]

Try the Jebao scp-180 cross flow pump. Thing is massive, for 160 bucks I guarantee all you’ll need is one of those, I have a 6 ft tank, had it and the lowest setting and had more flow than I was looking to get. Up to 9600 gph this thing could literally be used to create a miniature river

Can you tell me the magnet strength on the

Jebao SCP-180? What thickness glass are you using this on?​