Are wave makers and flows the same thing

[Kapachuka3]

Are wave makers and flows basically the same thing, i have a huge kenya tree that im currently using a wave maker for and i want the best thing for it.

 

[T-J]

Typically, people will use the words "wavemakers" and "powerheads" interchangeably. I've never heard them called "flows" before.

 

[Kapachuka3]

Typically, people will use the words "wavemakers" and "powerheads" interchangeably. I've never heard them called "flows" before.

Ah ok. I used to have one that just swirled and blew water through the front but the one i have now kinda spurts it out every 2 or so seconds.

 

[October Sky]

Ah ok. I used to have one that just swirled and blew water through the front but the one i have now kinda spurts it out every 2 or so seconds.

It's a powerhead in a wave maker setting, which is producing flow.

My powehead has on/off (wave making), ramp up on/off (softer wave making) constant, and then a setting for random.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Wavemakers have different settings like pulse mode which is described by gph turnover rate used synonymously as flow.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Yeah, powerheads (the fans that blow the water like you mentioned), wave makers, gyres, etc. are all used to generate flow.

Flow itself is just the movement of the water in the tank caused by the powerheads and such. Different flow generating pieces have different flows (meaning they move the water in different ways or in different amounts), and different things (like SPS and Softy corals, for example) prefer different styles of flow (random or consistent flow, for example) and different rates of flow (fast/high, moderate/medium, or slow/low flow).

I haven’t done much research into flows for specific corals yet, but, generally speaking, our tank inhabitants like random flows, and soft corals (including Kenya trees) like slower flows.

If your coral looks fine and isn’t showing signs of distress, I’d imagine the flow you currently have is fine for it, but you could give your current tank specs and ask around for what flow would be best for it (I’d imagine you’d get a wide range of responses though, so it might not be terribly helpful).