I been seeing alot different numbers for how much flow you should have in your tank but 20x-40x gph of your tank size seems to be for Reef tank numbers but how much flow should I have for a fish tank only or its the same?
Water flow
- Thread starter Daoz126
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Scotty Buttons
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I think 10x flow in a fish only system would be sufficient. But it wouldn't be hard to get 20x out of 2 pumps.
Peace River
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Reef Pumpkin Carver
Great question! Remember that return flow from the sump is different that in-tank water movement/flow which is a combination of the return flow and power heads. A filtration turn over of 10x is a decent amount but 5x may be enough depending on the size of the tank, type of fish, and filtration types used. Good luck!
I do have the return flow a cascade power filter and 3 powerheads with 530 gph each and I have a 125 gallon tank I been thinking of getting a jebao cross flow which I believe has 13000 gph on the highest mode but if what I'm running is I will hold off on the cross flow OK but since I read the more flow the better oxygen levels I might just get it soon to play it safe
Goodair
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+1
BRS (bulk reef supply) did a video on this. I highly recommend watching their 52 weeks of reefing series as they give alot of good information to help you make your choices on building a tank. I think they recomended 3-5x your tank volume for how much your pumps will push. As for flow from the power heads, that will depend on your livestock but a small powerhead just to get rid of deadspots in your tank should be sufficient for as fish only tank.
The overflow, skimmer and surface disruption will all help with the oxygen exchange with the water. If your return is moving the surface of the water, you should be good, but when power goes out, you might need to have something in place to keep it going.
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Good advice on the BRS videos and the oxygen exchange through water agitation (either in the tank or the sump). Regarding the comment about power loss, it is a good idea to have a battery powered air pump with an air stone on hand (some people also use battery back ups for short outages). I have spare air pumps that are powered by traditional batteries (usually 1 or 2 “D” batteries - note: don’t leave the batteries in the pump when not in use) and another that has a USB rechargeable battery.
