How to create a perfect flow

[Yesevil123]

Hello. My issue since day one with this tank has been the flow. My jebao wave maker is set up on the right side of my long 55 gallon. I have it 3-4 inches from the top pointed upward all the way. All my sand is moving to the right. Some times its happening slowly other times super fast. I had another circulation control on the left about the same distance from the top and where its located. It wasn't a jebao. I think it also was a little too fast for the tank. I want to say it's for a 75 gallon that I bought by mistake. I was recommended to get aragnoite sand, which i did, it's caribea live black aragonite but I haven't not put it in my tank yet. Today's water change day. So I planned on doing it all at once. Should I take my fish out while putting in the live sand? Or will they be okay? I have 2 clowns and the rest are all interverts. My internal canister filter by marineland might also be the issue to my sand, but i also have that pointed up. I need some direction

 

[coastalcoraline5181]

hi! i have 2 clowns with aragonite sand, i'd personally recommend taking them out before putting the sand in. while it maybe not be a huge issue, ive noticed that sometimes the grains of sand are actually small enough to get lodged in their gills so i'd take them out to play it safe.

 

[DanP-SD]

From the picture, it looks like the Jebao is creating a gyre-like flow. Water moves right-to-left across the top half of the tank, down the left side and then left-to-right across the bottom. That left-to-right flow is dragging the sand to the right.

If you add a second matching wavemaker on the left side, it’ll create the opposite flow. I’m not familiar with the Jebao wave maker but, if they can be paired and programmed, you can set them to opposing cycles or cycle at the same time. If you do opposing cycles, you may end up with your sand piled up in the middle but, if so, turning them each down to 50% or so may fix that. If you set them to run at the same time, you may also need to cut down the flow. They’ll create a pretty chaotic turbulence in the middle of the tank.

If they’re not programmable you might consider replacing the Jebao with two smaller wavemakers. Having a lot of flow in a reef tank is good for many corals but even those that like a lot of flow will do better if it’s not all coming from one source in a strong laminar stream.

 

[Yesevil123]

From the picture, it looks like the Jebao is creating a gyre-like flow. Water moves right-to-left across the top half of the tank, down the left side and then left-to-right across the bottom. That left-to-right flow is dragging the sand to the right.

If you add a second matching wavemaker on the left side, it’ll create the opposite flow. I’m not familiar with the Jebao wave maker but, if they can be paired and programmed, you can set them to opposing cycles or cycle at the same time. If you do opposing cycles, you may end up with your sand piled up in the middle but, if so, turning them each down to 50% or so may fix that. If you set them to run at the same time, you may also need to cut down the flow. They’ll create a pretty chaotic turbulence in the middle of the tank.

If they’re not programmable you might consider replacing the Jebao with two smaller wavemakers. Having a lot of flow in a reef tank is good for many corals but even those that like a lot of flow will do better if it’s not all coming from one source in a strong laminar stream.

The jebao can be programmable so I can get a second one for it. But yeah that was my issue, there was a vortex in the middle of the tank, it was a mess. I'm struggling

 

[Yesevil123]

hi! i have 2 clowns with aragonite sand, i'd personally recommend taking them out before putting the sand in. while it maybe not be a huge issue, ive noticed that sometimes the grains of sand are actually small enough to get lodged in their gills so i'd take them out to play it safe.

What about my inverts, would they be okay? Can I do this in increments right?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I think its almost impossible to have good flow with just one source of flow, it will always be a linear one way flow that circles around the tank in the same way.

IMO always better to have 2 sources of flow, aimed at each other, so they bounce and create random flow patterns. Even my 15 gallon has 2 powerheads, its the best way.

 

[DanP-SD]

Agreed. I use five wavemakers plus three return outlets and spent a lot of time “struggling” to tweak it just right. With a single source you’ll either have insufficient overall flow or too much in some places. I don’t think you can solve this with your current equipment.

 

[Yesevil123]

I think its almost impossible to have good flow with just one source of flow, it will always be a linear one way flow that circles around the tank in the same way.

IMO always better to have 2 sources of flow, aimed at each other, so they bounce and create random flow patterns. Even my 15 gallon has 2 powerheads, its the best way.

I tried that. But one was a generic circulation pump with no controll that was meant for a 75 gallon, it still pushed everything around even when I adjusted them. I'm just going to order another one to simplify the situation.

 

[Yesevil123]

Agreed. I use five wavemakers plus three return outlets and spent a lot of time “struggling” to tweak it just right. With a single source you’ll either have insufficient overall flow or too much in some places. I don’t think you can solve this with your current equipment.

Yeah just going to buy another one. They can be programmed to work together