MP40s blowing sand everywhere..

[gideon2086]

Hey there,

oddly enough this is a new issue - the tank is 5 months old and this has just started to happen. The sand in the center of the tank (above middle red line) is being blown like crazy and exposing the glass bottom.. covering up low corals in the process. I’ve marked the height of my two pumps in the picture. I have them synced and running on the tidal function. I added a bit more sand thinking the addition and friction of surrounding sand would stop it from moving.. but no so luck.

Any ideas on a solution will be appreciated.

 

[Sump Crab]

Either move the pumps around until you find a sweet spot or turn the power down.

 

[gideon2086]

Either move the pumps around until you find a sweet spot or turn the power down.

thats the thing though.. nothing has changed in the months I’ve had them up and this is suddenly happening. I’ve since turned down the power by two lights.. and no luck.

 

[Sump Crab]

Reefs evolve over time and things tend to change. Perhaps coral growth has changed the flow pattern, maybe a fish is disturbing the bed and disrupting its integrity. I would just reduce the power or move the pumps. Good reefing.

 

[Jstn]

i run my two mp40 in the top 1/3 of my tank and only at 60-70% due to sand storms. I used to have a third but i removed it due to sand moving around. i would move yours and drop the power by 20%

 

[gideon2086]

i run my two mp40 in the top 1/3 of my tank and only at 60-70% due to sand storms. I used to have a third but i removed it due to sand moving around. i would move yours and drop the power by 20%

You kept them at equal heights?

 

[Jstn]

yes, both are in the top 1/3 of the tank, one is 1/3 of the way to the back and the other 1/3 of the way to the front. creates a nice cicrular flow around my two large rocks

 

[gideon2086]

yes, both are in the top 1/3 of the tank, one is 1/3 of the way to the back and the other 1/3 of the way to the front. creates a nice cicrular flow around my two large rocks

Thanks, I’ll try raising the other and staggering them that way.

 

[ca1ore]

Flow patterns change as stuff grows. What kind of sand are you using? Mine gets shifted around by a quartet of MP60 pumps but doesn’t ‘aerosolize’. You could try strategically positioning a rock or two to disrupt flow patterns on the sand. I’ve done this in the past to good effect.

 

[PatW]

You could put some coarser grained sand in that spot. I find that fine sand blows around pretty easily so in the high flow areas, I put some coarse grained stuff.

 

[Greenjeans]

I have them synced and running on the tidal function.

This might be part of your problem - when using an Ecosmart mode like Tidal Swell Mode, the pump on the opposite wall of the tank needs to be running anti-sync from the master. If they are in sync, the turbulence will always happen in the middle of the tank, and they'll both be at full power at the same time...probably when the sand is getting blown

 

[gideon2086]

This might be part of your problem - when using an Ecosmart mode like Tidal Swell Mode, the pump on the opposite wall of the tank needs to be running anti-sync from the master. If they are in sync, the turbulence will always happen in the middle of the tank, and they'll both be at full power at the same time...probably when the sand is getting blown

I was under the belief that by being in sync they communicated to each other to avoid just this issue.

 

[gideon2086]

Flow patterns change as stuff grows. What kind of sand are you using? Mine gets shifted around by a quartet of MP60 pumps but doesn’t ‘aerosolize’. You could try strategically positioning a rock or two to disrupt flow patterns on the sand. I’ve done this in the past to good effect.

I’m using Fiji pink.

 

[Greenjeans]

I was under the belief that by being in sync they communicated to each other to avoid just this issue.

Admittedly the manual isn't very clear, so I spent some time playing with the modes and monitoring power consumption of the pumps. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/surprising-vortech-anti-sync-behavior-in-ecosmart-modes.705427/

If they are set to an Ecosmart mode like TSM, any slave pump on the same side as the master should be set to sync, slave pumps on the opposite should be set to anti-sync, and slaves on a adjacent wall to the master should be set to "Back".

 

[Jstn]

Thanks, I’ll try raising the other and staggering them that way.

also i run the fine tropic eden mini flakes (2.0 mm grain sized), i also have success running one pump in constant and the other in reef crest, then switching every 6 hrs. This is what WWC runs in the coral lab book and i have had good success.

 

[gideon2086]

also i run the fine tropic eden mini flakes (2.0 mm grain sized), i also have success running one pump in constant and the other in reef crest, then switching every 6 hrs. This is what WWC runs in the coral lab book and i have had good success.

You manually switch it?

 

[Jstn]

You manually switch it?

no i control it through my WXM soon to be via mobius.

 

[gideon2086]

Admittedly the manual isn't very clear, so I spent some time playing with the modes and monitoring power consumption of the pumps. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/surprising-vortech-anti-sync-behavior-in-ecosmart-modes.705427/

If they are set to an Ecosmart mode like TSM, any slave pump on the same side as the master should be set to sync, slave pumps on the opposite should be set to anti-sync, and slaves on a adjacent wall to the master should be set to "Back".

This is awesome, thanks! Looks like I’ll be doing some research on how to set anti-sync.

 

[LankyDutch]

I have one MP40 on the back of my cubic shaped tank so in one of its modes it blows the finest sand away from the front edge of the glass. Yes your reef structure and the rocks make that current do that landscaping work. I adjusted the placing of the pump and fiddled with modes which helped a little. I have now just added coarse sand/fine rubble to the front which stays perfectly out.