Trying SPS, bleached white overnight / 2 days

[Reef of Fillory]

Pictures

 

[Reef of Fillory]

Short video, excuse the TV show language in the background

 

[Reef of Fillory]

Is that tank 22" wide x 11 x 12? Seems like those lights should need to be at around 5-6" from the water to keep all the light in the tank. (90º lenses?) Having a reef-lit tank is better than having a reef-lit room....or at least my wife thinks so. If yours agrees with mine, lowering the light would help a lot.

I don't have too much light spillage in the room, and the light intensities are turned down a good amount. I measure 9" to the top of the water.

The actual tank size (not including the sump) is 11.5" x 18.5" and 12.5" deep

I've got about a 2-2.5" sand bed

 

[mcarroll]

Perfect. Here's my interpretation laid over the birdeye view...tell me what you think (you're there).

Blue appears to be the main trajectory of flow.

Hexagons are the corals that appear to be "in front" of the flow pump.

Green get good flow, but in so doing block flow to the others.

Yellow is partially blocked and red is totally or very blocked.

From the front view, it looks like the purple Stylo(?) is directly blocking flow and the other two are just helping.

The other downstream corals are probably more tolerant, but may also actually be getting better flow due to the return flow back to the pump.

An alternating flow current (with two pumps instead of one) would take care of this, BTW....not a big deal.

 

[mcarroll]

That's a sweet little tank, BTW. Nice!!

 

[Reef of Fillory]

Perfect. Here's my interpretation laid over the birdeye view...tell me what you think (you're there).

Blue appears to be the main trajectory of flow.

Hexagons are the corals that appear to be "in front" of the flow pump.

Green get good flow, but in so doing block flow to the others.

Yellow is partially blocked and red is totally or very blocked.

From the front view, it looks like the purple Stylo(?) is directly blocking flow and the other two are just helping.

The other downstream corals are probably more tolerant, but may also actually be getting better flow due to the return flow back to the pump.

An alternating flow current (with two pumps instead of one) would take care of this, BTW....not a big deal.

It shoots a little more down the center, the flow out of the powerhead is pretty gentle.

I actually have a jebao sw2 and a Tunze 6040 coming Monday which I'm going to use in the tank to get some more flow going (taking out the Hydor)

Not sure exactly how I'm going to set up and position the two pumps, but it should improve flow quite a bit!

One of the return pump outlets shoots against the glass closest to the outlet and the other shoots down towards the sps in the back

 

[Reef of Fillory]

That's a sweet little tank, BTW. Nice!!

Thanks! I'm excited to get it going steady and just leave it to grow out. My previous tanks were so big and empty in comparison to this one that it'll be nice to get a filled out tank more quickly (I even enjoy it how it is now)

 

[mcarroll]

I don't have too much light spillage in the room, and the light intensities are turned down a good amount. I measure 9" to the top of the water.

I dunno if you can easily change the height just to try it, but if you can, I'd give 5" off the water a try to see if you still think coverage etc is fine. (Should be since you still have 10" x2 of coverage at the surface.) That would be A LOT less light in room, plus your tank would use less power since you could turn the lights down even more. (You currently have about 18" of coverage on an 11" tank....about 7" of "extra")

Just a thought anyway...not related to the issue.

Not directly...

Now that we're talking about light, those corals are also at the intersection of both lights....your (probable) hot spot. Corals there will require the most flow and the most nutrients to maintain themselves compared to corals in lower-lighting zones, so if there's a paucity of either flow or nutrients for them (they go hand in hand)....again a potential contributor to the problem.

 

[Oakie12]

Problem is water flow change is a killer for SPS. One of the most common causes of lost.

I never though of that. Alk was always what I watched out for.

 

[mcarroll]

I actually have a jebao sw2 and a Tunze 6040

I might've suggested something a pair of 6015 or 6025 instead since you're running "peninsula style"....XX-wide flow isn't that ideal since your space is (from the pumps view) kinda XX-narrow.

You can probably still get some great flow with those pumps though. The 6040 is strong and with the deflector can probably be fairly well hidden.

 

[mcarroll]

I never though of that. Alk was always what I watched out for.

Since flow (flow specifically with enough force) is required for the coral to have access to anything in the water, you have to watch it as well as nutrients, chemistry, food, et al.

From here
(Thanks @Dana Riddle!)

Or google "coral boundary layer".

 

[Reef of Fillory]

I dunno if you can easily change the height just to try it, but if you can, I'd give 5" off the water a try to see if you still think coverage etc is fine. (Should be since you still have 10" x2 of coverage at the surface.) That would be A LOT less light in room, plus your tank would use less power since you could turn the lights down even more. (You currently have about 18" of coverage on an 11" tank....about 7" of "extra")

Just a thought anyway...not related to the issue.

Not directly...

Now that we're talking about light, those corals are also at the intersection of both lights....your (probable) hot spot. Corals there will require the most flow and the most nutrients to maintain themselves compared to corals in lower-lighting zones, so if there's a paucity of either flow or nutrients for them (they go hand in hand)....again a potential contributor to the problem.

the Lux app suggests that the center between the two lights is slightly less Lux than under the front light

I didn't think about the mounting height vs "coverage" area - just bought a pre-sized pipe at Home Depot and clamped it to the stand [they only had 48"]

Could maybe buy a second pipe and ask them to cut it in the store to a shorter length

I might've suggested something a pair of 6015 or 6025 instead since you're running "peninsula style"....XX-wide flow isn't that ideal since your space is (from the pumps view) kinda XX-narrow.

You can probably still get some great flow with those pumps though. The 6040 is strong and with the deflector can probably be fairly well hidden.

I went with the Jebao because it is controllable and I figured i'd use a pulse mode or a ramping mode [once I get my Apex this week, I may connect it to the Apex]

And I went with the 6040 after having a number of people suggest it to me, and this one is also controllable and should work for this tank, and to supplement flow in future [larger] tanks as well if needed
* This pump is also by far the smallest I found when searching


I'm thinking of setting these both up to pulse, and have their streams cross, or one pulsing and the other varying intensity

 

[mcarroll]

I didn't think about the mounting height vs "coverage" area - just bought a pre-sized pipe at Home Depot and clamped it to the stand [they only had 48"]

Could maybe buy a second pipe and ask them to cut it in the store to a shorter length

You be the judge if it's worth it....you'd have an adjustable light that way tho! It would definitely almost eliminate any light coming into the room, along with improving efficiency so you'd be able to turn them down more. The only question is whether you'd like it less or more or the same or whatever....my guess is you'd like it fine, but it's according to personal taste of course.

(Get a hacksaw and cut it at home?)

 

[Reef of Fillory]

You be the judge if it's worth it....you'd have an adjustable light that way tho! It would definitely almost eliminate any light coming into the room, along with improving efficiency so you'd be able to turn them down more. The only question is whether you'd like it less or more or the same or whatever....my guess is you'd like it fine, but it's according to personal taste of course.

(Get a hacksaw and cut it at home?)

I'm in an apartment, so no garage to use the hacksaw in... but

Home Depot cuts them for free, and they make a mess that they have to clean up! It's only around $5 to get a new pipe, so totally worth it. The way the light is mounted, I won't/shouldn't have any issues swinging it out of the way, so 6" above the water would still work great

 

[mcarroll]

I went with the Jebao because it is controllable and I figured i'd use a pulse mode or a ramping mode [once I get my Apex this week, I may connect it to the Apex]

And I went with the 6040 after having a number of people suggest it to me, and this one is also controllable and should work for this tank, and to supplement flow in future [larger] tanks as well if needed
* This pump is also by far the smallest I found when searching

Don't get me wrong here...just thinking out loud. I think controllability and size are mostly vanity features. So those aren't bad pumps and may work out like you imagine. But I don't use those as criteria for selection....instead I'd look at the application first and pick pumps that can deliver the correct flow for it.

These...

Aren't the smallest pump and not all models are controllable, but they have the correct flow and the non-controllable ones have an excellent price-point.

I also refer to this post in the Tunze forum (cut down to just the nano info) quite a bit to help with planning:

Nanostream
6015 2 x 1.5
6025 2.5 x 1.5
6045 3 x 1.5
6055 4 x 1.5
6095 3 x 3

So the 6015 will deliver a "cone of flow" about two feet long. By the end of that cone, the flow would be about one-and-a-half feet wide.

The 6025 is the same, with a little more distance built into its cone.....etc, with the 6045 and 6055.

The 6095, as you can see, is an XX-wide flow pump.

 

[mcarroll]

With that data, I would have probably picked two 6015's or 6025's or maybe two (adjustable) 6045's, depending on budget.

One would be placed on either side of the back wall and they'd be on simple timers. One would run for a few hours and then they'd switch and the other one would run for a few hours. It's almost a prefect flow strategy.

 

[mcarroll]

I'm in an apartment, so no garage to use the hacksaw in... but

Home Depot cuts them for free, and they make a mess that they have to clean up! It's only around $5 to get a new pipe, so totally worth it. The way the light is mounted, I won't/shouldn't have any issues swinging it out of the way, so 6" above the water would still work great

You'd catch me outside the front door or out in the parking lot, but I'm with you now!! $5 is worth it!

 

[Reef of Fillory]

This is what I was thinking in terms of flow

Have the jebao on for 30mins ramping up/down, then the tunze on for an hour or two, then start back up etc.

Not exactly sure what I can do with these pumps, was thinking about a MP10, but I don't want something obstructing the view on the glass panels, and I found that the 6040 is arguably one of the best MP10 competitors

 

[mcarroll]

mp's are totally off the radar for a narrow tank like this IMO. (XX-wide flow pumps in general would be.)

You may already know, but the 6040 is a transverse-mounted pump, so it doesn't blow straight out from the glass into the tank like most pumps – it blows along the glass that it's mounted on. So you'd have to place it on the side glass (or bottom glass) to aim it directly out into the tank – the back glass doesn't work without the deflector.

Without the deflector though, it's probably the widest flow pump out there since the rotor has literally nothing in front of it shaping or blocking its flow in any way. I use my 6020 (the non-controllable version of the 6040) this way on the back glass to put XX flow on a large birdsnest colony...the pump is only about 4" from the edge of the coral.

Regardless you'll have to experiment in your own situation, but I'd imagine placing your 6040 so that it's aimed up/vertically and with the deflector used to guide the flow out into the tank would give the best opportunity to hide the pump from view by placing it down lower on the back wall while still placing it ideally for flow.

Like this:

If you really like the 6040 like this, I'd put another one on the other side of the tank. You gain the ability to do something else with the other pump that way....maybe another tank or "for sale".

 

[Dana Riddle]

Here's a review of the Tunze 6040. Might help in determining if flow is an issue...
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2016/7/aafeature