Flow rate upgrade?

jasonmarc

jasonmarc

Member
Hi all,
Question about preferred flow rate... I have a 90gal w/ approx 175# of LR, 4 fish, and am starting my corals
However, I want to upgrade the hardware to increase the flow.
Currently I have a mag 9.5 on the return and a koralia 3 on the back corner angled towards the middle of the front glass. So that gives me approximately 1700gph. The opposite side of the tank I have a maxijet 1200 on which I cut the stems off to increase the flow rate (which I was told doubles the gph rating). However, I'd like to get another koralia to replace the maxijet - just for the overall appearance of the tank.
I'm planning on/have frags of zoas, softies, leather, etc. and I have a monti cap frag and a monti digitata (sp?) frag. All the easy stuff.
Finally the question - would a koralia 2 (600gph) be good, or would a model 3 (another 850) be preferable? The 2 would yield approximately a 26.5x turnover, whereas the model 3 would yield approximately 29.5x turnover.
Would that difference really make a substantial impact on the tank, or would a model 2 not really suffice, or would a model 3 have too much flow?
Thanks
Jason
 
jasonmarc

jasonmarc

Member
Wow - really? You guys don't think that would be too much flow for the kinds of corals and smaller fish that I have/want? Like I said, I really do't have a desire to go with SPS stuff (and I don't have the lights for it) and I liek the smaller, "wussy" fish...
But, y'all know more than I so.....
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
It is tough to have too much flow.
Go with the Koralia 4s or Maxijets with Sure Flow mods you won't regret it.
 
jasonmarc

jasonmarc

Member
Good to know. I already have the 3 in there... so I'll add a 4. Looks like that will give me a 33-ish turnover. That's surely an improvement over the 15 I had last week!
Now - one last question - do I place them both in opposite back corners aiming at the middle front glass, or should I put one in a front corner facing the LR pile?
Thanks again for the responses, and y'all's patience with someone who tries to think too much sometimes...
 
teen

teen

Active Member
try both and see which one leaves less dead spot in the tank. i have 2 nanostreams up front and a seio towards the back of my 30 gallon.
 
jasonmarc

jasonmarc

Member
Will do - it's a 90gal so those two at a cross-angle probably won't leave much dead spot in there....
Thanks again all
 
jfingers088

jfingers088

Member
i have a 90 with 2 mj 1200's facing each other. I have 13x turnover rate with no dead spots so i guess its all how you position the powerheads.
 
S

swalchemist

Guest
I run 2X 6100 TUNZE Streams on a multicontroller and a Wavebox that takes care of my dead spots in my 120. Just research flow and all available options, look into what others around you use, reef clubs are a great source of info on equipment.
 
S

swalchemist

Guest
"I have 3 sureflow modded maxi-jets in my 110. They work great."
Compared to what? Maybe a Koralia, I'll give you that. It is a cheap alternative to Tunze but does not come close in design or efficiency. Now if you are adventurous and a good DIYer try building a Carlson surge device thats cheap and that will give you the ultimate flow even more than a wavebox if you build it right, guaranteed.
 
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