H2O turns per hour

scotikis

Member
I'm setting up a 125 gal FOWLR with a 39 gallon fuge, 125 lbs of live rock and a UV. How many times per hour should I be turning my water over? Is there a standard that is used? Id appreciate any feedback. Thank you.
 

tdog7879

Member
Originally Posted by Scotikis
http:///forum/post/2748725
I'm setting up a 125 gal FOWLR with a 39 gallon fuge, 125 lbs of live rock and a UV. How many times per hour should I be turning my water over? Is there a standard that is used? Id appreciate any feedback. Thank you.
20x is the min.
 

mr_x

Active Member
these folks before me are stating total gph, not what gph the return pump should be. i just wanted to clarify that.
i agree with the above...the longer the waste/uneaten food stays in the water column, the more of a chance the filtration has to remove it, and the cleaner the tank will be.
 

scotikis

Member
Thanks all. The return pump I'm looking @ is 1200 gph which is 9.6 turns. to get to 20x per hour for the total capacity of the tank, I'm looking @ adding another 1350 gph in power heads. I was hoping to avoid power heads because I find them somewhat unsightly. Is there any other alternative? would any of you attempt to operate a system with only 9.6 turns per hour?
Also I gather that suspension of waste in the water column is the primary goal with water turns? I guess I thought the main purpose was to get the water across the fuge and UV, not so much suspending waste - although now I see the relationship.
 

salt210

Active Member
you could get a larger pump, but then your sump and overflows would both have to be able to handle the extra turnover
 

mr_x

Active Member
scotkis, make sure your overflows are able to handle the pump. put a ball valve after the pump exhaust, to be able to adjust it accordingly.
i don't know about anyone else. my main goal is to keep the water clean, and aerate it.
if you don't have sufficient flow, you are going to have detrius buildups here and there, and that's where you are going to run into some trouble, in the form of algae, or cyanobacteria.
 
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