Power head strength

[taymarie]

I have a ten gallon right now with a big filter that creates a lot of surface agitation. I also have the sun JVP-110 series submersible circulation pump that is 530 GPH. I took it out a while back because it seemed like too much. But now I know why it is important to have the powerhead. So I’m wondering if this one is too much for my tank, if too much is a thing, is fine for my tank, or if I should get a new one.

 

[PatW]

That is a 53 X flow. And that is considered high. I have more than that at about 60 times. World Wide Corals supposedly runs at over 100 times. And on reefs, the flows get much, much higher.

But if I recall, around 10 is considered low flow, 20-30 is medium, and 40+ is high.

 

[taymarie]

That is a 53 X flow. And that is considered high. I have more than that at about 60 times. World Wide Corals supposedly runs at over 100 times. And on reefs, the flows get much, much higher.

But if I recall, around 10 is considered low flow, 20-30 is medium, and 40+ is high.

So it won’t be bad for my tank?

 

[PatW]

If the powerhead has a narrow blast, you might have to fiddle a bit with direction. I have found that even slow pokey fish do fine in pretty high currents. Some of my fish enjoy powerhead surfing. They swim up to the powerhead and then hop into the blast and get a ride.

 

[Reef.]

You don’t mention why you want so much flow? Flow is good IF it’s needed, depending on what’s in the tank, a lot of flow can be good or bad.

 

[taymarie]

You don’t mention why you want so much flow? Flow is good IF it’s needed, depending on what’s in the tank, a lot of flow can be good or bad.

I thought it was optimal for dead spots in corners and also for overall coral happiness

 

[Reef.]

I thought it was optimal for dead spots in corners and also for overall coral happiness

no, different corals prefer different flow, yes it’s good if you can have it up as high as possible but only as high as the corals are happy, too high and they will either not open or die.