Too much flow??

pfitz44

pfitz44

Active Member
Flow Question!!!
I have a few fish in my tank, and it looks like there getting taken with the current!!! Heres what i got:
2 MAxi 900 PH 230 GPH
1 Cascase 1000 Filter 265
1 Aqua Remora-C PS (Maxi 1200) 295
For a total of 1020 GPH (18.54x Turnover)
Is this too much???
Its a FOWLR
~Fitzy
 
unleashed

unleashed

Active Member
I will say thats an awful lot of flow .how big is this tank? you may want to take a couple of them out. moving water is good but you dont want your fish to struggle to swim.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
I disagree. The ocean is a very turbulent place. Healthy fish need to swim. I believe for a FOWLR 20x is acceptable.
My Reef tank is pushing 36x gph and my fish love it.
What kind of fish do you have?
 
lepete

lepete

Member
I think that's not too bad.. especially when your Cascase & Remora are not operating at full throtle.
I have for my 90 gallon:
2 620 SEIOs, 620 GPH
1 ret pump at 6", 500 GPH
1 Maxijet 1200, 290 GPH
1 Maxijet 900, 230 GPH
Thats ... 25x. My fish is tossed around like crazy, but they seem to do it on purpose...
I've had this set up for a year now ... 2 clowns, 2 chromis, Frogspawn, xenia ...
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Agreed.. don't know much about Lion, but the other two fish are desgned for high flow areas.
My school of Chromis literally swim in place all day facing "upstream". They are constantly munching on things swept to them.
 
milomlo

milomlo

Active Member
Well I have a 29 gal and I have
2 MJ 900 460 gph total
MJ 1200 on my CPR Bak Pak skimmer (295 gph) don't know if that counts
Bio Wheel filter 350gph
Is this to much?
I only have 2 clowns and a tail spot blenny. My clowns sometimes get right in the flow of the powerheads and try to ride the waves so to speak. Kinda funny
 
pallan

pallan

Member
with so much current how do you keep the sand from getting stired. i had a rio 600 and two powersweeps in my 45 and although my fish liked it my sand would not stay in place so i took the powersweeps out turned the spray bar from my canister filter down and aimed the rio torward the surface. Stil got decent current but dont get as much sand kicked up. but i dont think my fish are as happy.
 
milomlo

milomlo

Active Member
Originally Posted by Pallan
with so much current how do you keep the sand from getting stired. i had a rio 600 and two powersweeps in my 45 and although my fish liked it my sand would not stay in place so i took the powersweeps out turned the spray bar from my canister filter down and aimed the rio torward the surface. Stil got decent current but dont get as much sand kicked up. but i dont think my fish are as happy.

I don't get sand kicked up. I did have to adjust one of the powerheads today as I had it pointed to low and it slowly made a hole in the sand. So I adjusted that and now all is fine.
The only place that bothers me is where my skimmer drops back into the tank. That digs a hole and every now and then I have to fix the sand, but it doesn't blow around or anything. If I put a smaller powerhead on the skimmer would that help with the current it drops back in?? I don't get alot of skim out of it anyway.
 
harndog

harndog

Member
In my 75 reef I have 3 mj1200's two with hydro flow 290 x3 attacments an emperor 400 which is 400 gph no bio wheels. and my wetdry skimmer uses a rion 600 for input and an 800 to add water back into the tank not sure on flow for them. has been up over a year and doing well. The 175 I just set up has 4 mj1200 a MD 1800 return from sump and mj900 on the uv sterlizer as well as the coralife skimmer. It will be fowlr. I have to agree if the fish want to be in lower current they will stay closer to the bottom or in an eddy behind a rock. the ocean always has crazy current
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by milomlo
I don't get sand kicked up. I did have to adjust one of the powerheads today as I had it pointed to low and it slowly made a hole in the sand. So I adjusted that and now all is fine.
The only place that bothers me is where my skimmer drops back into the tank. That digs a hole and every now and then I have to fix the sand, but it doesn't blow around or anything. If I put a smaller powerhead on the skimmer would that help with the current it drops back in?? I don't get alot of skim out of it anyway.
Exactly. Unless the powerhead is pointing into the sand mine doesn't move. Fodd, debris etc. bounces across my tank in a few seconds, but hte sand stays in place.
Milomlo, try placing a piece or two of live rock under the return from your skimmer. The water will break on that and spare your sand.
 
mikeyjer

mikeyjer

Active Member
I have to agree with journey here.....That's not a lot of flow in a 55 actually. I have the samething in my 55 and there's still isn't enough flow, I'm adding another maxijet tomorrow then building my own spray bar next month, that should give it enough flow! Getting a 900 this time instead of 1200, only disturbing the surface. :happyfish
 
tinmanny

tinmanny

Member
I agree with Journeyman My 90g has 1800gph and sometimes the fish swim right into the roughest part and get blown around for a fiew times then a while later they do it again. If the flow was too much for them they would find some nook or cranny and stay there away from the direct flow. I too have read on this forum that 20x is good flow.
Good luck

manny
 
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