Is my flow too high

[jordanrb]

Trying to play around with my flow but I cannot seem to get it any less. From what I read/see online this looks like possibly too much?

I have a 20g tank with a 250g pump and 270g wavemaker, not adjustable. At only around 26x flow I am not sure why it looks so drastic. This is the lowest I have been able to make it without just having the wavemaker blasting directly at a rock or stirring up the sand completely.

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

It looks ok to me. Polyps are extended and nothing seems to be getting thrashed.

 

[Idech]

That’s too much IMO. You want around half of that, to have a nice, slow balancing movement on the corals.

 

[Szweier]

Not seeing anything concerning in the video. Maybe a full tank video would give a better sense of the water movement.

 

[jordanrb]

That’s too much IMO. You want around half of that, to have a nice, slow balancing movement on the corals.

Any suggestion on what is can do? I cant lower my wavemaker and I dont know of any wavemaker that can go below 270gph

 

[jordanrb]

It looks ok to me. Polyps are extended and nothing seems to be getting thrashed.

Yeah thats the weird part. All the corals are fully extended during the day. It just seems rough

 

[jordanrb]

That’s too much IMO. You want around half of that, to have a nice, slow balancing movement on the corals.

This is actually with the wavemaker off. Never thought to try it but I am really surprised. Still a ton of movement all around the tank from just the pump. Would you recommend just not running my wavemaker? I literally cant put that thing anywhere in the tank without it making the corals go wild.

 

[jordanrb]

Not seeing anything concerning in the video. Maybe a full tank video would give a better sense of the water movement.

Just tried turning the wavemaker off. This is the movement I am getting without it. Almost seems sufficient enough. With the wavemaker on it is a good 2-3x the movement on the corals.

 

[Szweier]

Not seeing anything concerning in the video. Maybe a full tank video would give a better sense of the water movement.

Just tried turning the wavemaker off. This is the movement I am getting without it. Almost seems sufficient enough. With the wavemaker on it is a good 2-3x the movement on the corals.

Seems like a good flow in the tank. I think you’re fine.

 

[jordanrb]

Seems like a good flow in the tank. I think you’re fine.

So you would recommend keeping the wavemaker off?

 

[Szweier]

Seems like a good flow in the tank. I think you’re fine.

So you would recommend keeping the wavemaker off?

Honestly the first video didn’t give me much concern either. What I look for when trying to figure out flow issues is how the coral reacts. Given I’m not seeing corals remaining closed or polyps being ripped off by the current I don’t see much reason to change what you had. If over time you see corals that won’t open at all then it’s probably time for a change.

How long has the tank been up? Did you always have the wave maker on or is it a new addition? If new what made you get it, was there an issue tou were attempting to address?

 

[jordanrb]

Honestly the first video didn’t give me much concern either. What I look for when trying to figure out flow issues is how the coral reacts. Given I’m not seeing corals remaining closed or polyps being ripped off by the current I don’t see much reason to change what you had. If over time you see corals that won’t open at all then it’s probably time for a change.

How long has the tank been up? Did you always have the wave maker on or is it a new addition? If new what made you get it, was there an issue tou were attempting to address?

So since turning off the power head I notice the corals definitely are extending more even though they were never fully closed. Hammers always had a more bubble shape to them and now showing the actual hammer shape. My jeuvenile clown is exploring the tank much more as it always stayed at the surface near the back of the tank.

The tank is about 2 months old. The wavemaker was part of the "kit" my LFS made.

My main concern is technically the flow is super low in my tank for a lot of corals. I have read some people getting away with just their pump for smaller nano tanks and having success with a variety of corals. Could possibly getting a programmable wavemaker be better as I can controll the flow and do more random patterns which could be a more middle ground of what I am experiencing?

 

[Szweier]

Honestly the first video didn’t give me much concern either. What I look for when trying to figure out flow issues is how the coral reacts. Given I’m not seeing corals remaining closed or polyps being ripped off by the current I don’t see much reason to change what you had. If over time you see corals that won’t open at all then it’s probably time for a change.

How long has the tank been up? Did you always have the wave maker on or is it a new addition? If new what made you get it, was there an issue tou were attempting to address?

So since turning off the power head I notice the corals definitely are extending more even though they were never fully closed. Hammers always had a more bubble shape to them and now showing the actual hammer shape. My jeuvenile clown is exploring the tank much more as it always stayed at the surface near the back of the tank.

The tank is about 2 months old. The wavemaker was part of the "kit" my LFS made.

My main concern is technically the flow is super low in my tank for a lot of corals. I have read some people getting away with just their pump for smaller nano tanks and having success with a variety of corals. Could possibly getting a programmable wavemaker be better as I can controll the flow and do more random patterns which could be a more middle ground of what I am experiencing?

Given that the fish comes out more and the corals open slightly better with less flow then I’d say it’s probably a good indicator that the wave maker was too much for the tank. Something programmable would definitely be better but the other thing I’d keep in mind is that tank is very young. It’ll take time for everything to settle and be happy in the tank. The more control you have the better off you are but any changes you make should be slow and methodical.

You don’t yet have a lot of corals and that process will likely take time. I’d watch the tank and look to see if there are dead spots lots of detritus is building up in at which point that’s a pretty good indicator you need some more flow.

 

[Idech]

This is actually with the wavemaker off. Never thought to try it but I am really surprised. Still a ton of movement all around the tank from just the pump. Would you recommend just not running my wavemaker? I literally cant put that thing anywhere in the tank without it making the corals go wild.

I like it better this way.

 

[jordanrb]

Given that the fish comes out more and the corals open slightly better with less flow then I’d say it’s probably a good indicator that the wave maker was too much for the tank. Something programmable would definitely be better but the other thing I’d keep in mind is that tank is very young. It’ll take time for everything to settle and be happy in the tank. The more control you have the better off you are but any changes you make should be slow and methodical.

You don’t yet have a lot of corals and that process will likely take time. I’d watch the tank and look to see if there are dead spots lots of detritus is building up in at which point that’s a pretty good indicator you need some more flow.

Ok great. I Will keep it off for now. I have a good amount of particles floating in the tank (another issue i am dealing with). It looks like a good amount of movement everywhere even with the wavemaker off. I will keep an eye on it long term.

 

[jordanrb]

I like it better this way.

Ok great. I honestly think the corals are happier as well as my jeuvenile clown. Although the actual flow numbers are technically on the low end.

 

[dvgyfresh]

I use the hygger mini gyre and return pump in my 20G AIO it’s perfect , I even have it on max speed , but that is because I use an anemone guard

 

[Michael71]

Not sure what direction your power head is facing but i always found that pointing to the surface a bit more and letting the flow bounce off the opposite glass before heading down slowed things up a bit. Just be aware if it is an open top tank it will increase evaporation. That may let you turn on the wave pump again. My 30gl had 900gph in total flow between 2 powerheads and the returns.

 

[dvgyfresh]

This is it

 

[Codfish Comb]

I have a 22gal cube with a 300gal return and a mini hygger powerhead that is 660gal, both turned up to max. I have the Carib sea fine sand and a pistol/goby pair and no issues with sand flying. Flow looks fine for that GSP but I can’t imagine it would be enough for much else though. Last month I had to use a mini return pump that was about 200 gal when my original broke and my stylo and acans wouldn’t extend at all due to poor flow