Cannot get correct flow!

[Kial]

i have a aquareef 400, 4ft tank with centre overflow and two jabao wave makers but cannot seem to get correct flow. I’ve recently had one pump on each side, one nearer the front and one the back but kept getting dead spots with a lot of fish poo left on the sand behind rocks.
Today I’ve switched it up a few times and currently have the pumps faced at either side of the overflow to direct flow behind the rocks, which is working for the back but now limited flow around the front!
Any recommendations on what to try?

Cheers!

 

[Rakie]

You need more pumps.

As corals grow you end up with the issue of corals not getting enough flow. That may not be your issue yet, but if you're struggling to get proper flow before growth things are only going to get much much worse.

for a 4' tank i'd go with 4 pumps. Two on the back, two on the side. And no matter how strong you think they are, you probably need stronger ones. I'm running two 6095's rated at 2500gph each in a 45g cube (50 cube but shorter)

 

[wattson]

I have 5 powerhead/wave makers 1100gph atleast and a strong return line in a 60 gallon frag tank,2'x4x1'h'...very hard to get the correct flow with just 2 wave makers.

 

[Kial]

My corals are getting a lot of flow at the moment but I will have to grab a couple more pumps then for the back.
Would you place them on the back wall facing the front glass?
Thanks for the advice

 

[Rakie]

Yes, I would put them there. Or you can put them lower, point them up towards the surface and cause a wide varied flow.

 

[Kial]

Awesome I'll get a couple more and give it a go.
Thanks

 

[TangingOut]

Point them towards the surface.

 

[Kial]

So does pointing them up create more of an all round flow? My sand is the worst part at the moment

 

[NY_Caveman]

You could consider adding a single gyre unit. That might do well in a long tank with your current pumps.

 

[Kial]

You could consider adding a single gyre unit. That might do well in a long tank with your current pumps.

I’ll take a look at them

 

[Rakie]

So does pointing them up create more of an all round flow? My sand is the worst part at the moment

Yes, it does. Two on the back wall pointing up will create a very wide gyre like effect.

A note on Gyre's in general -- They aren't that great. Had two, sold 'em. Get something with a VERY wide (NON Laminar) flow pattern, like Neptune WAV, Tunze 6095, Sicce xstream, etc etc.

And more flow is ALWAYS better. You're way better off having a giant pump running at 40-50% power today than 100% power -- because one day you're going to need stronger pumps. In 2-5 years, everybody will need to up their flow. Even the ocean doesn't produce enough flow for some corals given enough time -- One natural method of propagation stems from the coral not getting proper flow, and dying from the center outward. The pieces break off, and begin to grow on the rocks below.

As for why not gyres? Gyres are like a thing disc of flow. A pump like a wide Tunze or a Wav, is more like a shotgun blast of flow. If you go with Gyres, I'd say you need two minimum.

Just my 5 cents

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I've got 2 Jebao SW4s on a 20" cube turned all the way up on random mode. They are rated at 1000gph each, and I'm thinking I need a third. I don't have dead areas on my sand, and it gets moved around a good bit, but somehow I think I just need more flow. More is better than not enough, you can always turn a pump down some.

 

[Rakie]

I've got 2 Jebao SW4s on a 20" cube turned all the way up on random mode. They are rated at 1000gph each, and I'm thinking I need a third. I don't have dead areas on my sand, and it gets moved around a good bit, but somehow I think I just need more flow. More is better than not enough, you can always turn a pump down some.

I would say rock structure plays a big part too.

I'm running a pair of Tunze 6095 on a 24x24x18 and I have plenty of dead spots. Since both my pumps are running near max, which is 2500gph each, I'm guessing it's rock structure as the issue.

 

[Kial]

Yeah I reckon it’s my rockwork that’s playing a big part in my dead spots also. I managed to get it flowing throughout the rock bUt resulted in a sand storm! So will just get some more pumps

 

[Kial]

So I’ve been able to add another pump, went with a jabao rw-15. I now have an 8 and a 4 in the tank as well.
I’ve moved the 4 to the back of the tank facing up and I wake up in the morning with hills of sand covering my corals. Seems anywhere I Place it on the back I get this result?

 

[wattson]

your corals need flow,,that a fact in the wild and our glass boxes too.
unfortunately having sand is always a problem with getting enough flow..
simple remedy ,,get rid of your sand for more flow or keep your sand and still have flow problems with corals suffering/dying..
all my tanks are bare bottom and I LOVE it,,no more sand nutrients sinks,,Po4/No3 spikes from sand being disturbed and WAY LESS water param/Algae headaches..
do yourself a favor and get rid of your sand..

 

[Kial]

I can’t bring myself to get rid of the sand aha. I like the natural look to much

 

[Instigate]

So I’ve been able to add another pump, went with a jabao rw-15. I now have an 8 and a 4 in the tank as well.
I’ve moved the 4 to the back of the tank facing up and I wake up in the morning with hills of sand covering my corals. Seems anywhere I Place it on the back I get this result?

The sand will be less prone to blowing around the more mature it gets. I have a few bags of very small grain size sand, like sugar, and it was creating sand dunes for the first few months but now stays put. But my tank is just LPS so it's not like I have a massive amount of flow.

 

[Kial]

It’s not so much mAking sandstorms, it’s creating big hills which Bury my corals etc. Hopefully I can sort it out soon

 

[Mandelstam]

A good aqua scape is very important to how the water will flow through the tank, it's not just all about gph. A rock in the right place will shelter both sand and low flow corals, a rock in the wrong place will block flow and create dead spots in some areas and violent sandstorms in others. Moving or removing a rock can open up the whole tank and make a better flow.
Pump placement and aqua scape should work together.