littleliza
Member
I've got a new 12 gallon reef tank and I'm wondering how many gph I should have circulating in it. I've heard to multiply the gallons by 5, so that would be 60 gph, but is that strong enough for corals? Thanks in advance!
Water flow question
- Thread starter littleliza
- Start date
littleliza
Member
I've read a lot of threads here saying it should be anywhere from 10x to 30x for flow rate, but the reef book I have and the lfs said 5x... is the tank size going to change the optimal amount, too? I had a maxi-jet 900 in my tank at first, but it just seemed really really powerful. Now I have a little powerhead with 68 gph output, and it looks ok, but I'm worried that won't be enough for my nano tank after reading that 5x the gallons isn't the way to go. Help!
stonynut
Member
i am a fan of high, broad water flow... not from 1 point source. this is really hard to achieve in a smaller tank unless you want a bunch of small gph powerheads filling up your tank.
5x would be a bare minimum for a fish only tank in my opinion.
i would shoot for at least 10x with somewhere b/w 15-20x making the system more healthy.
5x would be a bare minimum for a fish only tank in my opinion.
i would shoot for at least 10x with somewhere b/w 15-20x making the system more healthy.
angelsrock
Member
i agree if you don't have better flow than 5x then waste is gonna collect on the bottom. the higher the flow the better. i would go with 300 gph.
killergoby
Member
In my 29 gallon I run a AC30 (174GPH max) on it's lowest flow setting, and an AC20 (125GPH max) on the highest flow setting. I assume I might have about 267GPH flowing through my tank. That's not counting the flow from my CPR BakPac and CPR HOB fuge. Ideally I should have between 300GPH to 600GPH, but since I keep mostly LPS's, Zoos, and Mushrooms they require moderate to low flow. It all depends on what you'd like to keep. Try not to feed too much (target feed) so no waste falls in the tank.
hot883
Active Member
Originally Posted by killergoby
In my 29 gallon I run a AC30 (174GPH max) on it's lowest flow setting, and an AC20 (125GPH max) on the highest flow setting. I assume I might have about 267GPH flowing through my tank. That's not counting the flow from my CPR BakPac and CPR HOB fuge. Ideally I should have between 300GPH to 600GPH, but since I keep mostly LPS's, Zoos, and Mushrooms they require moderate to low flow. It all depends on what you'd like to keep. Try not to feed too much (target feed) so no waste falls in the tank.
Show off
No, really very nice.
In my 29 gallon I run a AC30 (174GPH max) on it's lowest flow setting, and an AC20 (125GPH max) on the highest flow setting. I assume I might have about 267GPH flowing through my tank. That's not counting the flow from my CPR BakPac and CPR HOB fuge. Ideally I should have between 300GPH to 600GPH, but since I keep mostly LPS's, Zoos, and Mushrooms they require moderate to low flow. It all depends on what you'd like to keep. Try not to feed too much (target feed) so no waste falls in the tank.
Show off
No, really very nice.
killergoby
Member
Thanks man. Here's one more:
littleliza
Member
You hijacked my thread! lol, gorgeous tank... post more if you like, I enjoy a good picture
I'll see if I can somehow hook in the stock powerhead at another position... I had the maxi-jet 900 hooked up, but my fish and shrimp seemed to be blown away! I hadn't noticed how heavy the flow was until I put them in.
ah, and here's my new tank... I finally have more than a couple hermits and snails in it! So exciting
ah, and here's my new tank... I finally have more than a couple hermits and snails in it! So exciting
littleliza
Member
I love taking pictures!!!
littleliza
Member
sadly, that gorgeous fire shrimp was more prop than anything by that point, he had twitched a little when he first arrived, but that's all he ever did... I drip acclimated him for 3.5 hours, to no avail, and finally I had to leave for work, so I put him in the tank anyway, just in case a miracle would happen. No such luck, and by the time I got home there was no sign of him, minus a little bit of carapace.
killergoby
Member
Are you sure he didn't just molt? Sorry for hijacking the thread. I just wanted to show you what you can do w/ low to moderate flow. Your Kenya Tree looks great!