include size of tank L, W, H and GPH from all power heads

[acropora4u]

How many gallons per hour including all powerheads do you push thru your sps reef? my tank is 60" long x 36" wide x 24" tall ( 225 gallon peninsula) i am pushing all pumps at 100% in reef crest or gyre modes- and includes 2 x Mp40 (4,500GPH each) - 1 x Mp60 (7500 GPH) - 2 x Wav pumps ( 4,000 GPH each) and 1 maxspect gyre 330 ( 2350 GPH) for a total of 26,850 GPH... should be good for sps ....

what is your SPS reef flow set up?

 

[jda]

One of my SPS tanks is 84x26x26 ish and I have a pair of Tunze 6105s run at random and a real Wavebox with Tunze pump. The wave box moves 100% of the tank water all of the time - impossible to do a GPH reading. The 6105s oscillate between about 30% and 80% ... so average 55% of 3400 for 1870 x2. This is more than enough flow for my acropora. I have always found that having competent flow is fine and that more does not really do anything.

I would caution not to trust GPH readings too much. I have had a lot of different pumps and these are just swags. For example, I have had mp40s right next to 6105s and the 6105s move more water and are rated quite a bit lower. Tunze 6255 moves more water than a mp60 and they are rated lower too. In the end, it does not matter since this is not a contest to just measure the size of everybody's johnsons, but the eyeball test is probably important here.

Lastly, if your fish are skinny and swimming for their lives all of the time, then you probably have too much flow.

 

[Midrats]

My johnsons are all Tunzes. Two 6055s and one 6040 in wave mode. I love real waveboxes but my tank is too small at 30x24x16. So around 80x turnover at 4000gph.

 

[X-37B]

Hard to calculate turnover in my system.
6095 2510gph x2=5020gph
6105 3434gph x2=7268gph
Ow403920gphx2=7840
Total 20,060gph
In my 120, 4x2x2,I run 6 powerheads.
5 are on random and 1 is on full 100% only when the lights are on.
2 6095's on the back wall at 100% random, 1 on for 5 seconds off for 10, 1 on for 10 seconds off for 10.
2 ow-40's on else mode which varies for around 30% to 100% randomly.
1 6105 on pulse mode 10 seconds on 10 off at 100%.
1 6105 on 100% when lights on and off when lights out.

This creats alot of random flow.

I started with 2 6095's and 2 ow-25's. As the tank matured the
ow-25's were replaced with non controlable 6105's. I the replaced them with new ow-40's later.
My non controlable 6105' are over 15 years old and still going strong.

I also run the wide flow nozzles on the Tunze pumps. The narrow ones are to atrong for a 4' tank, imo.

I added a 6105 with controller then about 4-5 months later the 6105 non controlable.

The most importand variable for me is the random flow.
I will change the ow'40's to wave mode every few days just to mix it up.

I also change the direction of the powerheads every so often to create different flow patterns.

So far its worked out well.

 

[PatW]

I have a 300 gallon. It is 72” width, 36” depth and 27” height. I am pushing about 2000 gph through my return pump and I have 4 MP 40s for maybe 4,500 each. So about a 40+ turnover rate. I have toyed with adding more flow. For SPS, I have acropora, montipora, birds nests, pocillipora and a small stylipora. I also have some Euphylla and other SPS. Everything seems to be fine about the flow.

 

[Chris Spaulding]

I have 60x24x24 15 gallon
Return pump pushing 1500 gph
2 MP40 Reefcrest and Tidalswell 100% deferent times of the day on Sidewalls awards front
2 Maxspext 330 Gyers back wall random 100%
2 Nero5 Random 100% Botton sides to keep the back stared up.

I turn all down to 50% from 12 am to 5 am

 

[SamMule]

Red sea Max 250. Something like 36x22x21". 55gal?
2 stock circulation pumps at 530gph
1 MP40 running reef crest @ 20%. I suppose that means it averages out at ~10%, so 500 gph there.

Guess that puts me at around 1500-1600 GPH, which is more than enough.

I feel like "good" flow is one of those things that can't be easily quantified by slapping a number on it.

You can run both a pressure washer and a garden hose at 5gpm.
I know, it's not exactly the same as indirect vs. laminar flow, but you get the idea...