NO Flow and LOW Flow Zones in your saltwater reef aquarium? Good idea?

[fftfk]

Low flow areas are good but think no-flow area are detrimental.

 

[F i s h y]

Byrne Co Ohno he did in u indy TV by Jeff

 

[LPS Bum]

Sure. I have a lot of fleshy LPS corals (Scolys, Acanthophylias, Cynarinas, etc) and all of them are in low flow areas. Not no flow, because all corals needs some flow, but none of these fleshy guys do well in higher energy environments. Just enough to keep them clean and bring them some food once a week.

So yes, depending upon what types of corals you have, lower flow areas can be very beneficial.

 

[Trevor Yayoshi]

how many ways to beat the flow...
so many options
gotta have it all...

 

[Jwise]

I would say to at least have low flow would be better than anything. Im thinking at least enough to move detritus and waste to where higher flow can push it into the filtration and get filtered out. That's why i love the ecotech wave makers because they are so good at creating the random flow that your reef aquarium really needs i use 2 mp 40's and my 125 setup and will get the ecotech return pump when the older standard one i have now gives out.

 

[CoralB]

Low flow for like mushrooms , softies , slow swimming creatures etc ?

 

[ChattReefer]

I try and blast as much flow as possible around my Acros and utilize "low flow zones" for lps. I like having my power heads clean my rock work for me lol

 

[LagoonParadise22]

In a mixed reef most likely your gonna have too . Flow doesn't have to be really strong it just has to be consistent and tuned just enough. Ecotech Mp40 has a very good setting called nutrient transport. I sat down and watched the tank for a hour watching the flow pattern. I noticed it keeps my LPS Suspended up so I know its constantly getting a flow with out overwhelming it . The are pumps are close to sps . Also the rocks can prevent water flow depending on your aquascape . Flow has to be top 3 most important to get right .

 

[ss30]

2 different questions there, low flow yes for some coral types/fish. No flow, no.

 

[reefsaver]

I like to have enough flow everywhere except for one sump compartment so I can have a place where the heaviest detritus settles and can quickly and easily all be syphoned.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Some patches of slower flow are desirable, as they are good spots for fleshy LPS. However, areas with no flow are just dead spots. Great for detritus and decaying matter, bad for anything else. I like to have high flow through most of the tank, as it gives the fish some exercise, helps corals, removes detritus, and keeps the water oxygenated.

 

[caddnima_reef]

My 75g have two zones. Left side is LPS or low flow and right side is SPS or high flow.

 

[hoytoyed]

I run 3 mp40’s on my 150 gallon. It’s 60” long so I have one each near the top : one towards the front and one towards the back. I noticed that I was getting detritus build up behind the rock work so when BRS had MP40’s on the one day sale a couple of weeks ago a I bought one and placed it about 2/3 down on one side. It has cleaned up the back of the tank bottom like a champ. To keep my torch garden and hammers from being blown into the next zip code I’ve had to reduce the flow on each pump, and the side with only one pump is running a bit higher than the other two, so that the “mixing zone” where the flow from each side meets is more in the middle. The torches are dancing around a bit more than I would prefer, but they’re not just blowing to one side. My acropora is middle and up so they get a good random flow. Altogether the pumps are producing about 9000gph flow not including the return pump.