New power head. When to call it quits

[Talo’s Reef]

I purchased a new skimz ss6 Wavemaker for my fluval evo 13. It replaced a hydor koralia nano simply because I wanted something that was controllable. I have it set on the lowest setting and it is still more powerful then the hydor though not by much. My lps corals don’t seem quite as happy. Still have polyp extension just not as much. My sps the same. I figure they are all adjusting to the new flow. At what point do I call it quits and go back to the hydor.

 

[Coralreefer1]

Just keep an eye on them to see if they eventually open up. If not, you have three choices...go back to your Hydor with no controller( a great powerhead by the way), or move the Coral that may not like the increased flow, or reposition your powerhead so you have less laminar flow pushing more water than they are accustomed to. Bank the powerhead off the glass so that you are able to spread the water over a much greater surface area, than would otherwise not be able to be accomplished. Trial and error...

 

[damselindistress]

I purchased a new skimz ss6 Wavemaker for my fluval evo 13. It replaced a hydor koralia nano simply because I wanted something that was controllable. I have it set on the lowest setting and it is still more powerful then the hydor though not by much. My lps corals don’t seem quite as happy. Still have polyp extension just not as much. My sps the same. I figure they are all adjusting to the new flow. At what point do I call it quits and go back to the hydor.

I struggled with power heads and flow in the Evo 13 as well. I had the koralia as well, 2 diff sizes and bought the jebao wave maker (don’t bother) and a cheap sunsun.... could never find the sweet spot. It was either practically no flow or a sandstorm - no happy medium. It’s just an awfully tight little box to try and manipulate flow in. +1 on the above post, give your corals some time. Just make sure you aren’t blasting their tissues directly. You’ll know by tomorrow if they are going to accept that level of flow. Have you tried juxtaposing 2 power heads opposite each other to create some turbulence rather than laminar flow?

 

[Talo’s Reef]

I struggled with power heads and flow in the Evo 13 as well. I had the koralia as well, 2 diff sizes and bought the jebao wave maker (don’t bother) and a cheap sunsun.... could never find the sweet spot. It was either practically no flow or a sandstorm - no happy medium. It’s just an awfully tight little box to try and manipulate flow in. +1 on the above post, give your corals some time. Just make sure you aren’t blasting their tissues directly. You’ll know by tomorrow if they are going to accept that level of flow. Have you tried juxtaposing 2 power heads opposite each other to create some turbulence rather than laminar flow?

Couldn’t agree more. However, how long would you wait before calling it a failure. Most corals are adapting. All corals are showing polyp extension just not as much on a few. It’s been on for 3days at this point. I’m not having sandstorms. I like the higher flow. This tank is on its way to be an invert/coral QT so as I get more into the higher flow SPS I am definitely going to be using this pump. I haven’t used both Powerbeats for turbulent flow as I have my returns pointing in the opposite direction for that purpose.

 

[damselindistress]

Couldn’t agree more. However, how long would you wait before calling it a failure. Most corals are adapting. All corals are showing polyp extension just not as much on a few. It’s been on for 3days at this point. I’m not having sandstorms. I like the higher flow. This tank is on its way to be an invert/coral QT so as I get more into the higher flow SPS I am definitely going to be using this pump. I haven’t used both Powerbeats for turbulent flow as I have my returns pointing in the opposite direction for that purpose.

As much a pain as it is I think I'd switch back to the old koralia and see if the polyp extension improves/returns to normal. If you get better PE with the koralia then you've probably got your answer. If that turns out to be the case I still wouldn't call the bigger powerhead a failure just maybe not the optimal set up for your Evo at this particular point in time, you may have different corals in there down the road that appreciate that higher flow.

 

[Talo’s Reef]

As much a pain as it is I think I'd switch back to the old koralia and see if the polyp extension improves/returns to normal. If you get better PE with the koralia then you've probably got your answer. If that turns out to be the case I still wouldn't call the bigger powerhead a failure just maybe not the optimal set up for your Evo at this particular point in time, you may have different corals in there down the road that appreciate that higher flow.

Thank you guys very much