FLOW GOAL: Let's talk about Methods, Equipment, Lessons and Goals

[ZoWhat]

Vortechs with random pulsing pointed AT each other.

Note:

Soft tissue corals: looooow flow. Anemones, zoas/palys, elegance, mushrooms.... most soft tissue with hardly any calcium carbonate structure

LPS: medium flow. Just enough to move water consistently over the LPS surface at a gentle yet semi rapid pace.

SPS: medium to high flow. Keeps dreaded NO3 po4 from stick around the skin tissue to long that leads to STN



.

 

[lapin]

Nice rock, heirlooms ?

Heirlooms? i duno whats you means
Marco Rock

 

[K7BMG]

I have a set of Gyre XF280's in my 110G (way to much power.) Have had them on straight flow at 20% for a long time, at opposing ends. Going to set it up for one of the automatic preset configs of Lunar or Ocean, but still not over 20% or I will blow water out of my tank.
Varios 8 for the return at an average of 1350GPH according to my Apex.

 

[Brew12]

Hey This is realy the first time I picked up on the importance of Velocity, I just thought volume was key. Thread please.

I'm not sure there is a good thread on R2R about it. @Dana Riddle mentions velocity in some threads for work he has done, such as this one.

Visualizing Flow

Now that I'm back from Wyoming to see the eclipse... If you've ever dived on a natural reef that has a fine size bed of sand, you've probably noticed rippled patterns. That's what I'm seeing in the new 90-gallon tank sand, and I measured the water velocity with a Marsh-McBirney electronic water...

www.reef2reef.com

Most of my opinions on flow have been formed by reading coral studies done at the Great Barrier Reef.

 

[SkiCatTX]

My new tank will be a mixture of MP40s, XF-350s, and RFG LocLine returns. Current tanks are Jabao and IceCap 1k Gyre, cheap but effective.

 

[Vivid Creative Aquatics Verified Sponsor]

Flow is something we are extremely interested in and constantly thinking about - for obvious reasons - LOL

I'm going to start with question 4 - What is your goal for flow in your tank?
The goal is to create as natural a flow environment as possible. This usually means creating not just strong, but also broad random flow patterns. Directional and laminar flow can work but is not usually as successful as random flow.

There are a lot of ways to achieve this, but one of the least complex and cost effective is to use the Random Flow Generator™ Nozzle.


1. What pumps, equipment, devices etc. are you using for flow?
DC pumps that are slightly oversized for the application combined with our Random Flow Generator nozzle are my goto solution. They give me the ability to adjust the flow and dial them in to just where I need the GPH to be while still having a bit of overhead, should i need it. I like the Vectra line and the Abyzz pumps for this use.

With that said, most aquariums, as manufactured today, do not have the return lines or closed loop in the correct locations for using just RFGs (that's beginning to change). In these cases I like the flow produced by pumps like the Ecotech MP40s/60 and the Neptune WAV pump. Gyers work well too for simply moving large volumes of water, but I've always felt they need some other form of flow to help break up the laminar nature of the flow they create.


2. Do you have some type of method or idea that you're employing to accomplish your flow goals? (gyre, random, closed loop, just stick a pump on the glass etc)

Random flow with both high-flow and lower flow zones. I prefer the mixed reef look, so having both types of flow is essential and allows for a wider variety of coral. If deployed properly, a series of RFG nozzles are capable of creating these types of flow variations throughout the tank.

This is not my tank, but this is a tank at a LFS that uses the RFG to do just that:

3. What have you learned when it comes to producing flow in your tank?
I have learned that strong, always-on unidirectional flow tends to grow oddly shaped Coral. Random flow tends to help with this issue.

 

[lakin58]

It was suggested that we talk about water flow in one of our daily questions and poll so here we go with FLOW! As you well know flow is very important for our tank for a multitude of reasons and choosing the right solution, pumps etc. is vital to the long term success of your reef. So help me out here and answer these questions and help us understand your FLOW GOAL!

1. What pumps, equipment, devices etc. are you using for flow?

3 MP40 in a 155 at 25-30%

2. Do you have some type of method or idea that you're employing to accomplish your flow goals? (gyre, random, closed loop, just stick a pump on the glass etc)

use Vortech reef crest, constant and pulse modes alternating between the 3 pumps

3. What have you learned when it comes to producing flow in your tank? Pros and Cons!

don’t tinker too much with it ...when making changes a little at a time and let the tank adjust

4. What is your goal for flow in your tank? (seems obvious but maybe not)

polyp extension, coral health. Not sure the fish much care - too much flow effects coral before it effects fish.

 

[Erick375]

Curious of opinions on what height in the tank people put their powerheads. I have 3 in my 180G and I "think" I like having them maybe 40% down the wall pointed level (in random directions. Hate the cords, but if they are any higher pointed downwards they tend to create bald spots on the tank floor in the sand. Ideally (retrospectively) I'd like them fairly low slightly pointed up, would hide the heads behind the rocks, offset would be more cord and rocks disturbing flow. As is, my rockscape is too much in the way to get much lower. Would love others thoughts though, thanks.

 

[siggy]

Heirlooms? i duno whats you means
Marco Rock

Sorry I thought that was the real stuff or real dead stuff. You got a good batch, looks natural

 

[Dj City]

I don't know what I'm shooting for in my new build. Maybe ridiculousness.

I have...
4 Neptune Wav pumps (all 4 will be on back wall)
2 Gyres (will be on ends of tank high as possible)
Tunze Stream 3 (don't know where its going yet)
Jeabo DCT 15000 return pump
Random Flow Generator Nozzles on returns
Jeabo DCT 10000 manifold pump

Wav's..... up to 4000gph each.....16000gph total
Gyre....... up to 5000gph each.... 10000gph total
Stream 3 up to 3962gph............. 3962gph total
DCT 15000 up to 3962gph.......... 3962gph total

All this is going into a SCA 180 gallon 5ft reef.

I've learned this is EXPENSIVE but I want more than enough flow for whatever I wish to do in this build.
This should work for an sps dominate reef right?
Is there ANY sand I can put in this tank that won't end up looking like a snow globe?
Actual learning will come from experience once I get all this up and running.

I am always looking for guidance from the community.

 

[Dj City]

I'm trying to get this build on the right track for looooooong term success.

 

[s_tempest]

I have two gyre pumps in my 130 gallon (4x2x2). One on each side, mounted along the back wall almost in the corners, flow directed towards the front of the tank (almost parallel to the side wall). Both are mounted vertically, which works for my tank because I have a pretty open rock layout. Their schedules are almost the same, both ramping up to 100% and down to 0% over a two-minute cycle. One's cycle is 2 seconds longer than the others - this way I don't need to be super-careful about coordinating things when I turn them on. They will go through being alternating to simultaneous over about an hour or so. I think that helps with the randomness. I also have the nozzles from my return pumps pointing horizontal and straight forward, so there is interaction with those and the gyre pump outflows.
FWIW I get good and random flow throughout my tank with this. Upper part of the tank has higher flow and light (good for what I want), and lower in tank has lower but still random flow. Mine gyres are IceCaps (not an endorsement, just an observation - I've definitely read good things about the Maxspects). My current reef tank is only set up since summer, so I can't comment on the long term track record, success, growth, etc. But I am seeing growth in my variety of corals (Montipora, Acropora, favia, leptoseris, chalices, zoas, mushrooms, ricordea).

 

[wranodj]

4 gyres on a 6 foot 135g
2 250’s on side, 2 q150’s on back
OGC & LTC programs running
Too much speed can kill

 

[Scribz718]

I cannot figure out flow to save my reef. I mean at all. I have 2 MP40’s and 2 MP10’s on opposing sides of a 5ft. I have them set to reef crest at 75% each. Feeding the tank is a vectra m2 at 70% split into a Y nozzle with vca random nozzles on each. To top that off, I have 2 xf330 gyres on opposing sides. I have no rock in the tank. Detritus STILL builds up and there are STILL dead spots.

 

[Dj City]

I cannot figure out flow to save my reef. I mean at all. I have 2 MP40’s and 2 MP10’s on opposing sides of a 5ft. I have them set to reef crest at 75% each. Feeding the tank is a vectra m2 at 70% split into a Y nozzle with vca random nozzles on each. To top that off, I have 2 xf330 gyres on opposing sides. I have no rock in the tank. Detritus STILL builds up and there are STILL dead spots.

Maybe move all pumps down a few inches towards the bottom of thr tank?

Or

Leave mp40's in place but move mp10's to back wall llow down in the tank.

Pic might be helpful.

 

[ca1ore]

Not sure I really follow the argument for velocity .... other than perhaps the ability to ‘reach’ in a long peninsula tank? I will generally choose a high volume, broad flow pump over something more narrow with higher velocity.

Most of the flow in my tank is accomplished with a quartet of end mounted MP60 pumps. I also use a single MP40 and pair of RPM along the back wall for cross currents. Main return pump sends 1,600 GPH directly down behind the main reef structure - I defy any detritus to gather back there. I also have a dual outlet closed loop with a pair of VCA nozzles. Probably not necessary in the grand scheme, but I like futzing with stuff so .....

I don’t worry much about hitting a particular flow number as long as everything looks like it’s moving around well enough and there’s no detritus gathering anywhere.

 

[DSEKULA]

I have a corner wrap around drop off tank. When I was designing the system I couldn't think of a good way to place power heads everywhere, so on a friends suggestion I built a looped system. I have a basement sump with two return pumps and one pump directly under the tank that runs 16 additional return lines. There's no filteration attached to the loop this is literally just for flow. Each loop line is valved so I can control flow in specific areas of the tank. Here's a view up the skirt of my tank.

 

[don_chuwish]

Tunze 6055s at each back corner pointing diagonally across the tank to the opposing front corners. They ramp up and down slowly through the day in opposition to each other. So the flow goes in one direction, then crashes in the middle before reversing. Hoping for a tidal effect. I played around with the wave making function but all that weight sloshing back and forth made me nervous.

 

[Brew12]

Not sure I really follow the argument for velocity .... other than perhaps the ability to ‘reach’ in a long peninsula tank? I will generally choose a high volume, broad flow pump over something more narrow with higher velocity.

It takes velocity to reduce the boundary layer that surrounds a coral to allow the exchange of waste and nutrients.

 

[eric.battani]

My tank is a All in One Cardiff nano 24gallon

1. What pumps, equipment, devices etc. are you using for flow?

I have a Maxspect gyre xf230 that I’m currently running in a random mode that goes up to 70%
Also i have a jebao dct 1200 in the back that’s running at full capacity. Because my tank has a full bow on the front it’s hard to get the flow to bounce off the glass the make that turbulence around my reef

2. Do you have some type of method or idea that you're employing to accomplish your flow goals? (gyre, random, closed loop, just stick a pump on the glass etc)

No but I wish I did

3. What have you learned when it comes to producing flow in your tank? Pros and Cons!

The gyre pump is definitely a pro

Con
I can’t turn it up higher without destroying my sand bed

4. What is your goal for flow in your tank? (seems obvious but maybe not)

To have it kick up all the detritus so it doesn’t settle anywhere