I need water circulation help?

t11t5

Member
I have a 150g tank. What powerheads or pumps do you recommend to do the job right? and how many I need?
 

jjlittle

Member
On my 150 gal I have a Mag18 return & mag 9 return and I have 5 maxijet 1200's power heads all is very good and doing well
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
i'd follow jj's lead. You should have 15x's turnover. Meaning 150gal (your tank size) x 15 = 2,250... that's how many gph your equipment should be running. IMO, having a few powerheads in the tank is necessary to prevent build-up on your sand...
 

t11t5

Member
Im near Kent and Akron. I have :
2- Rio Aqua 2500 - 782gph each
2- Cap 2200 - 800gph each (i think)
3- Maxi-jet 1200 - 295 each each
This should work right?
 

ohioguy06

Member
I would say your on the right track might be a little on the low side for the return pump...........And im From toledo
 

squidd

Active Member
My thoughts on Turnover/Suggested turnover rates...
FOWLR : (Fish Only with Live Rock) 10X to 15X Depending on species, some like Box fish/Cow fish need slower water or "some" protected areas, others like Tangs and most Aggressive do better (filtration wise) with more flow due to high waste load.
Reef, Softies only: 10X to 15X Good rate for filtration, but not too fast as some "branching" softies won't open fully if blown around too much...
Reef, Softie and LPS: 15X to 20X with "protected" areas for branching softies (see above)
Reef, LPS: 20X to 25X Excellent flow for filtration and keeping deitrus suspended and movement of micro flora and Fauna food supply as well as "waste" and slime removal from coral bedding areas...
Reef LPS and SPS: 20X to 30X More flow is beneficial to SPS, but some "protected areas" are needed for "pillowy" inflating LPS as they too do not appreciate being blown around.
Reef, SPS: 25X and up, 30X is good, more is better: Most SPS do well in high flow situations, with a combination of random and linear flow patterns (flow control, wave and surge action, mix it up) Benefit to filtration, deitrus suspension, Oxygenation, waste and aelopathy removal and micro flora and fauna feeding...
This is a "General" recommendation for "Total" turnover which is a combination of sump return and supplemental circulation devices "IN" the tank (power heads/closed loop etc...) and with any species there will be exceptions to the rule (some softies are OK in high flow, some SPS don't like getting blasted)
Much of your success and failure with these projected flow rates will come from Rock layout and flow Output direction...Due to varying Rock scape, tank size/shape, and circulation layout (rock/tank wall deflection, caves, competing/canceling effect of flow movement) You may find you need higher or lower "Pump numbers" to get the desired "flow effect" in your tank, sometimes a rearranging of rock scape or redirecting power heads is all it takes, sometimes you'll need to "UP" the pumping capacity...
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
Originally Posted by t11t5
Im near Kent and Akron. I have :
2- Rio Aqua 2500 - 782gph each
2- Cap 2200 - 800gph each (i think)
3- Maxi-jet 1200 - 295 each each
This should work right?
cool, i'm up near cleveland in Mentor.
 
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