Not sure where to post this, need help with splashing

[Shnolby]

Hey everyone, I just set up my reef. The return piping from the sump has a siphon break drilled into it. The pump pushes about 2000 gph, so there is a little stream coming from the siphon break. It points directly into the middle of the tank, but there is still minor splashing on the back edge of the tank. It’s not a huge deal, but it may lead to excessive salt creep with time. Any way to help minimize the splashing? Maybe just cover that section of the tank with a lid or glass?

 

[T-J]

How big is the tank? Do you need 2000 gph on the return? If you back it down some, does the problem go away?

 

[Shnolby]

How big is the tank? Do you need 2000 gph on the return? If you back it down some, does the problem go away?

It’s 150 gallon display with 200 gallons of water volume. It’s just dry rock in there right now, but I plan on having lps, sps, and softies so I thought about 2000gph would be a good starting point. Turning it down does eliminate the splashing, so I guess that’s always an option too. No wave maker yet, just the current from the return

 

[T-J]

It’s 150 gallon display with 200 gallons of water volume. It’s just dry rock in there right now, but I plan on having lps, sps, and softies so I thought about 2000gph would be a good starting point. Turning it down does eliminate the splashing, so I guess that’s always an option too. No wave maker yet, just the current from the return

Gotcha. Most recommend 5-10 turnover rate on a return. So for you, that's 750-1500. So even if you dial it back by 1/4, you'd still be at the top end of recommended turnover. Most of your tank flow will probably come from additional wavemakers/powerheads/etc. Of course, you can add a sea swirl to it, which would add some great flow patterns to the tank.

 

[Cory]

The only thing you can do is redrill with new pipe a hole that points down more or use a check valve instead of a hole.