Flow for an SPS Dominant 120 (4x2x2)

[Hentz]

My MP40qd makes it to the end of my 36" tank, but the flow is significantly reduced by the end (I run mine at full power). I wouldn't put much hope for an MP40 with another foot to go. The MP60 I have does a good job doing the full 3 feet. I thought it would be a joke putting the MP60 in my 40 breeder until I got my 150 up (spilling water onto the floor), but I was amazed that it seems to just be the proper amount of flow for a 40 breeder SPS tank when combined with the MP40 and the MP10. I only have these because I was planning on using them for my upgrade, but this is a ton of money for flow for a 40 breeder.

Man I'm truly blown away by how much power they don't seem to be producing. I've never had the issue which is weird. dang @mcarroll has me thinking of Tunze 6105's, as I was originally. My only main concern is cosmetics at this point. My 120 is euro braced and I'd rather NOT have wires being more visible.
I found 2 MP40's or 1 Gyre 150 perfect for my 56 gallon, which was only 2-3" taller than a 40 breeder. Kept all Acropora in it, but was BB so I blasted my powerheads.

 

[Husker]

My 150 is euro braced, too. I have the same problem with cords in the tank.

 

[bif24701]

My MP40qd makes it to the end of my 36" tank, but the flow is significantly reduced by the end (I run mine at full power). I wouldn't put much hope for an MP40 with another foot to go. The MP60 I have does a good job doing the full 3 feet. I thought it would be a joke putting the MP60 in my 40 breeder until I got my 150 up (spilling water onto the floor), but I was amazed that it seems to just be the proper amount of flow for a 40 breeder SPS tank when combined with the MP40 and the MP10. I only have these because I was planning on using them for my upgrade, but this is a ton of money for flow for a 40 breeder.

Something doesn't add up here, not saying your making things up but a MP60 on a 40 breed @50% should blow the water right out of the tank. You have two MP40s? @100%? And am MP60 going 60%? Do you have any water in this tank or is it just LR? LOL

Are you sure these pumps are serviceable?

 

[bif24701]

Tunze 6105s are super under rated.

Maybe I should make another video running only the one 6105 on my 6' display?

 

[Husker]

It is an MP40, an MP10, and an MP60. The MP40 and 60 are on 100% and 50%, respectively, and both are on nutrient export.

Here is a quick cell phone pick. I do have quite a bit of rock in this tank. The pumps all work well and I haven't had them that long. You can see from the sand that the MP60 is causing a bit of a dune over time.

 

[roberthu526]

I like the gyre more. I think the flow is gentler yet thorough.

 

[Abhishek]

Well am always on the side of as much flow as possible in my budget .
In my 30 in x 30 in x18 in tank of only acro frags , I have a gyre 130 , an icecap 3k gyre , 2 Tunze 6055 and a sea swirl connected to my Tunze return .
Soon changing the 2 6055s to 6095s for their wider flow as my 6055s are 7 years old .
Yes tunzes are built for ever and last a lifetime .
If it was me , I would do 2 6105s and 2 icecap 3k gyres as they are cheap and produce awesome gyre actions .
If you can afford a sea swirl in the mix , it's done for flow !!

Above all equipments I have , seaswirl is the one I love the most !

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[bif24701]

Well am always on the side of as much flow as possible in my budget .
In my 30 in x 30 in x18 in tank of only acro frags , I have a gyre 130 , an icecap 3k gyre , 2 Tunze 6055 and a sea swirl connected to my Tunze return .
Soon changing the 2 6055s to 6095s for their wider flow as my 6055s are 7 years old .
Yes tunzes are built for ever and last a lifetime .
If it was me , I would do 2 6105s and 2 icecap 3k gyres as they are cheap and produce awesome gyre actions .
If you can afford a sea swirl in the mix , it's done for flow !!

Above all equipments I have , seaswirl is the one I love the most !

Regards,
Abhishek

Two 6105 can make a very good gyre effect and in only a 4' tank them together can creat a whirlpool. The 6105s are not only powerful they have a long reach like a Gyre pump.

 

[Abhishek]

Two 6105 can make a very good gyre effect and in only a 4' tank them together can creat a whirlpool. The 6105s are not only powerful they have a long reach like a Gyre pump.

Its personal preference !! I would have the 6105s on either ends of the 4 foot with the gyres on the backwall on either of overflow if you have any and have no sand .
If you ever get a chance to dive in a reef , you will see what I meant by flow. Its so tremendous that whirlpool is an understatement .

In all of these , I would make sure that no acros or any corals are in direct path and very close to the tunzes . They will rip the flesh off. I lost a 3 inch hawkins echinata in the same fashion !!!

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[bif24701]

Its personal preference !! I would have the 6105s on either ends of the 4 foot with the gyres on the backwall on either of overflow if you have any and have no sand .
If you ever get a chance to dive in a reef , you will see what I meant by flow. Its so tremendous that whirlpool is an understatement .

In all of these , I would make sure that no acros or any corals are in direct path and very close to the tunzes . They will rip the flesh off. I lost a 3 inch hawkins echinata in the same fashion !!!

Regards,
Abhishek

I totally agree! That's exactly why I've got two 6105s and a MP60 on my display! I would never recommend against additional flow, just trying to illustrate that the 6105s are not underpowered, like at all and they can reach 6' easily.

With a narrow flow pattern like the 6105 I would point it toward the top or one of the long sides because anything closer than 36" with the narrow nozzle is going to get blasted.

 

[Abhishek]

I totally agree! That's exactly why I've got two 6105s and a MP60 on my display! I would never recommend against additional flow, just trying to illustrate that the 6105s are not underpowered, like at all and they can reach 6' easily.

With a narrow flow pattern like the 6105 I would point it toward the top or one of the long sides because anything closer than 36" with the narrow nozzle is going to get blasted.

Agree to the tee !!
in fact op can opt for 6255 outer cage for a wider flow for 6105 if you feel that its too strong. However, if you place teh 6105s on either end of the 6 foot tank with no acros in direct path, i think you should be covered .

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[BantyRooster97]

My MP40Qds make it easily to the end of my 4' tank. They blow stuff all over and I have them maxing out at 55% (reefcrest). They about blow my torches to pieces, and they are at either ends of my tank, in the corners. I have several nems that are constantly flowing and the water surface is always rippling. I have a bunch of SPS frags that all appear happy.

If you have a 10, 40 & a 60 in your little breeder, something is wrong. Though from your pic it looks like you have sand blown everywhere on your rocks.

I know they say more flow, more flow, more flow, for SPS... but dang!

 

[dmantz1]

I have 2 MP10's on my 40b at 75%. Tons of flow. It's an SPS dominate tank.

 

[Husker]

I have 2 MP10's on my 40b at 75%. Tons of flow. It's an SPS dominate tank.

Do you have a picture? It must not be very filled in, yet. Either that, or you are a powerhead placement ninja.

 

[Husker]

My MP40Qds make it easily to the end of my 4' tank. They blow stuff all over and I have them maxing out at 55% (reefcrest). They about blow my torches to pieces, and they are at either ends of my tank, in the corners. I have several nems that are constantly flowing and the water surface is always rippling. I have a bunch of SPS frags that all appear happy.

If you have a 10, 40 & a 60 in your little breeder, something is wrong. Though from your pic it looks like you have sand blown everywhere on your rocks.

I know they say more flow, more flow, more flow, for SPS... but dang!

I think part of it is how obstructed the flow is. Torches don't put up much resistance, but as SPS colonies grow, they are basically road blocks for the water flow.

I may have an overly busy aquascape, too. Yes, the sand on the left is being pushed by the MP60, but it does so slowly. If I don't push my sand around a bit, I get a ton of detritus build up on the rocks.

 

[kamikazereefer]

I got à 48x24x20 sps tank

I got 2 mp40 wqd one on each side!!!

I run them both 100% one constant mode the other one pulse or reefcrest and switching every 3 hour

Got great PE great growth

 

[Porkchopz]

Maybe I'm wrong ... but if I add that up with the MP10, MP40, and MP 60 @50-60% you are talking ~9000gph .. that's 225x tank volume per hour. I mean I know SPS like high flow, but is this not a bit much? I'm putting together a 120 that will be all SPS and was planning on two MP40's and some additional flow from 2x sea swirls on returns. Am I under cutting it?

 

[Husker]

I didn't mean to take over this whole thread with my wonky situation, sorry.. haha. I will say that when you think of the water turnover, the pump "gph" rating refers to the amount of water that goes through the pump. I think, with the vortechs, a lot of those gph are in the first foot away from the pump. If I run my MP40 on the back left side of my tank with the other two pumps off, I may get the full 4,500 gph turnover in that back corner of the tank. However, in the opposite corner, the flow is maybe about 500 gph. If the tank volume turnover rate is referring to the environment where acropora like to sit, those colonies at the far end of the tank would not be sitting in very high velocity flow. This is what I notice with detritus buildup and my vortechs. When I only had the MP40 and the MP10, the areas right in front of them were clear of detritus, but it still collected significantly in the areas away from the MP40 and not directly in front of the MP10.

I have had the MP60 going for about a week now and the cyano is completely gone and hasn't come back. I haven't changed anything else.

 

[Hentz]

Maybe I'm wrong ... but if I add that up with the MP10, MP40, and MP 60 @50-60% you are talking ~9000gph .. that's 225x tank volume per hour. I mean I know SPS like high flow, but is this not a bit much? I'm putting together a 120 that will be all SPS and was planning on two MP40's and some additional flow from 2x sea swirls on returns. Am I under cutting it?

I don't think you're under cutting it at all. I bought one MP40QD yesterday and will buy another in the upcoming weeks. That along with my Gyre 130 would be absolutely plenty of flow from what I've gathered.

That being said, you should be fine with two plus the Sea Swirls for a while. I'd assume you would need to add more later down the road when you have full blown colonies. But that's a year or two down the road!

 

[creef101]

In terms of flow: how crucial is the wave feature of these pumps vs standard powerheads? I'm almost ready to start stocking a 6' 125 g tank that will be predominantly sps. I've looked at many of the pumps above, but are they necessary to create sufficient flow? Between the return pump (two corner returns with the sump to display pioing pushing water from both back corners) and several regular powerheads, there are also around 4K gph being pushed.