what flow rate for SPS tank only

[marvelousone]

What is the minimum and maximum flow rate for SPS tank. What rate should return pump be and what rate with power heads.

 

[tdileo]

Triton recommends 10x return pump turnover. I think it’s overkill and 5-6 is perfect for most systems. For an all SPS system, I would go for no less than 75x total turnover (return pump + powerheads). These tanks are way easier bare bottom by the way, lol.

 

[marvelousone]

why not more on return pump. Like 25x and 50x on powerheads.

 

[tdileo]

why not more on return pump. Like 25x and 50x on powerheads.

Usually your return sends a stream of water. You want mostly a randomized pattern which can be created by using multiple power heads, sending water in different directions and different speeds as well as hitting different angles of your corals and rock. That is the kind of flow that corals like best.
Another reason is that 25x sump turnover would probably make a refugium useless and if you run your tank without any mechanical filtration (ie socks) I think you would constantly have particles floating around since it won’t settle in your sump with so much flow.

 

[Phelipe's Ocean]

Depends if you have sand or not. I just set up a new build last night with 80x tunover.

 

[Phelipe's Ocean]

It will be used only as a frag tank though having sand makes it much harder to have a high turnover

 

[marvelousone]

Usually your return sends a stream of water. You want mostly a randomized pattern which can be created by using multiple power heads, sending water in different directions and different speeds as well as hitting different angles of your corals and rock. That is the kind of flow that corals like best.
Another reason is that 25x sump turnover would probably make a refugium useless and if you run your tank without any mechanical filtration (ie socks) I think you would constantly have particles floating around since it won’t settle in your sump with so much flow.

I do have filter socks. 2 - 10" socks. I have cheato but thinking about removing and use reactor with some kind of media and skimmer.

 

[marvelousone]

Depends if you have sand or not. I just set up a new build last night with 80x tunover.

I do have sand but I have been slowly removing it to get to bare bottom. I do want to go with bare bottom.

 

[Phelipe's Ocean]

I do have sand but I have been slowly removing it to get to bare bottom. I do want to go with bare bottom.

You wont regret it, plus if you dont like the reflection coming up from the bottom of the glass you can always grow a carpet of zoas or encrusting montis etc.

 

[marvelousone]

You wont regret it, plus if you dont like the reflection coming up from the bottom of the glass you can always grow a carpet of zoas or encrusting montis etc.

That's what exactly what I was think about doing. Zoas to cover the bottom.

 

[VR28man]

IMO it depends on the SPS's your trying to grow.

The big reef tank (1 mile x 200feet x 20-50 feet) at the fore reef (on the seaward side of the reef crest) of Hanauma bay, Hawaii more often than not has so much flow that swimming is challenging, and is often not very relaxing. (it's sometimes outright dangerous to swim in**). It also has outstanding SPS growth. All this is typical for upper fore reefs. This is good for Acros and some montis and porites. Pocilloporas are most prevalent in areas with even more flow. Maybe not so good for Leptos?

The much smaller reef tank that existed a few pools in from the reef crest, at one pool at Kapoho tide pools, had much calmer water. At least 75X flow, by our standards. Easily pushes the swimmer around with strong force, but still a very pleasant swim. Every single square inch of that pool had encrusting and plating montis, a few up to 2m in diameter. The tops of the pools, with more flow, had lots of pocillopora, since they like more flow.



IMO, nature of the flow is more important than the absolute number. My SPS tank (one month old, but with decent acropora and pocillopra growth so far) has, nominally, 140X flow (Gyre 150, 500gph Jebao, in an aqueon 29G). None of this directly hits any coral. None of this is constant; it's generally in the gyre advanced controller's variable pulse mode, and at its height the controller's random mode. None of this is persistent; I have it at max random mode for about an hour, when the light is at its highest*, and then ramp up and down. (when I have time I'm going to have it go to max twice, with ramp up and ramp downs, to simulate the surges between high and low tide). From about 7pm-8am, I have the gyre at 30%, variable pulse, and the jebao at 50% (58X nominally, less so because of the variable pulse algorithim; I'd guess 40x).

Nevertheless, I am thinking about cost effective ways (beyond getting another gyre) to get maybe another 1000gph( 30x) more flow during the maximum flow periods. This time, it would be flowing in the opposite direction of the gyre.

Anyway, my acroporas, digitata and rainbow montis, and my purple gorgonian (pterogorgia anceps) are quite happy. The SPS have been showing good growth for the last month, save for one of the two pocillopora frags whose growth is OK but a bit anemic. The gorgo is about 1.5X bigger than it was a Christmastime. The ocellaris clowns often love swimming straight into the flow.

Finally, the second of the two pocillopora frags is about 6" directly in front of the Jebao (random mode at 100%, 500gph during the day and ramp up mode at 50%, 250gph at night). After one month it's grown from an ash-and-trash frag (I did get it for free at a frag swap) to a mini-textbook example of what a pocillopora in high flow should look like.


All that said, many (most?) people are also very successful with much less flow, even with acros and poccis.


* 300 PAR at the acro frag with the most light; 250PAR for most of the rest, which I hit them with for 5 hours before it goes down to lower levels. I may ramp things up once everyone is settled. At first I fed them all a lot daily, but when nitrate spiked to 7ppm I cut back to more economical feeding every other day, and now nitrates are back to 0. I dose 15ml vinegar each day.

** And no, I'm not talking about the protected beach area that most people swim in, which doesn't have that great coral growth, save for a 6 foot wide, 500 year old Porites

 

[marvelousone]

Vr28man what a great reply. Thank you. I have a pocillopora that I was given. When I got it. It was brown and did not know what it was. It has colored up and is growing. I have it high and in direct line of the powerhead. It one of the few sps that I have been able to grow. I have been told I do not have enough flow in my tank. I am going to up grade my return pump first. then I will look at getting powerheads like a gyre to make waves. I want to make sure I have enough but not to much. Sound like you cant have to much.

 

[TexasTodd]

Go read Mike Paletta's new article here on R2R. A quote "I've come to believe you can't have too much flow without reaching the point of ripping flesh off". Or something close to that. I think he said he's shooting for 80x on his planned build 500g.

 

[Acroporaaddict]

My tank has the capability of 200+ flow rate just from the powerheads. I'm running 2 gyre XF250s on a 50 cube. Not using that much now, but it will be nice to have when the acros grow in

 

[Acroporaaddict]

Also I always recommend powerheads bigger than you think you need. If you're looking at mp10s, get mp40s. Looking at gyre XF230s, get the XF250s. I'd rather run at 50% as opposed to 100%. Pumps are quieter and I'd assume they last longer due to less power consumption and rpms

 

[marvelousone]

Also I always recommend powerheads bigger than you think you need. If you're looking at mp10s, get mp40s. Looking at gyre XF230s, get the XF250s. I'd rather run at 50% as opposed to 100%. Pumps are quieter and I'd assume they last longer due to less power consumption and rpms

That's a good point.

 

[Abdullah Al Faruq]

Should we take tank volume into consideration while selecting force of flow generated by wavemakers? Smaller tanks compared to that of the bigger ones will have a faster rate of hitting the glass walls leading to a greater commotion and more random swirls. Any views?

 

[MrObscura]

As much random indirect flow as possible is the goal for any tank imo. If the corals are open and still have flesh, you dont have too much.

My nuvo 10 is a mixed tank and I started thinking an upgraded return pushing 30x would be good, but if wasn't. I added a kps, running on its highest sps setting, supposedly for 200l. So, I'm now pushing over 100x at max.

For a large tank with a sump most of it you probably want coming from powerheads with only 10x or less from the return.

 

[Abdullah Al Faruq]

Thank you for that input.
Therefore, a 2'x2'x1'(H), 30 gallon SPS(Stylo+Seriato only) tank (having 25 gal of water) should be fine with two 5000 liter/hr. powerheads set indirectly against each other (blowing their heads out on the walls), I presume.

 

[Backreefing]

Some on here say as much as x80 per gal seams to much for me . My 37 gal has 1700- 1800 gal per hour . Puts me at x45 . At this much all polyps are dancing around and no ditritis laying around . I’m staying put since it’s working . The math isn’t absolute. IMO
One thing to point out about return flow is it’s not the pump or return line that limits flow , in my experience it’s the flow to the sump that limits flow the most . A powerful pump will empty the sump into the dt without great flow from the dt just saying.
I prefer circulation pumps inside the aquarium most , pulseing, waves, or focused into each other , whatever works best with your aquarium and scape.
Happy reefing