Need help with flow for a large tank.

[Vance]

500 gallon 7'x4' in the planning stages looking for flow options. Will have sps but very very little aquascape.

Options I've thought of:
Pair of mp40s (or similar?) and a controllable return pointed at where I know I will need more flow for larger sps colonies.

Or one mp40, closed loop w/ controllable pump for growing sps, and return plumbed low in the tank to help move detritus up where it can be removed.

Any ideas? I need help there are to many options haha and all these new controllers are Greek to me. Seeing the ecotech vectra opened a world of possibilities.

 

[TUSI]

My tank is much smaller than yours and I have a big reeflo on a closed loop then I still had to do two mp 40 plus 4 tunze. So I think your options that you are thinking is not enough. You would need a minimum of 6 mp 40 IMO

 

[Vance]

How much rock do you have? By little rock I mean literally sps only against one of the side walls of the tank and about halfway down the back wall, think minimalist to an extreme... So of I change that to two mp60s thats 15000gph in just wavemakers, about 30x turnover in straight movement with 10x turnover to sump and return 40x total. Does that sound reasonable? So no closed loop.

 

[Vance]

I was just thinking with the closed loop I will be able to increase the flow to colonies as they grow, stop the centers from dying...

 

[Salty1962]

I would use your return lines for site specific flow and at LEAST a MP-40 on each side and one on the back wall for random flow. You may look into a XF150 and see if that might be a solution for you, they put out allot of flow. I know people who have a XF150 on each side of their 180 and 210s with a MP-40 on the back wall. JMO

 

[Vance]

Okay, so need to rethink this. Total tank wall thickness is going to be 1.5" so mp's and gyres are out, unless someone has a genius idea to still mount them through that thickness?

Will two closed loops along with the return be enough flow or do I need to rethink my flow completely?