water flow

[mule31]

I have been having an issue with ammonia over the last couple of months. In an attempt to keep the nitrates down I have removed the filter that was housing a lot of the ammonia and nitrates but also was one of my major flow contributors. Anyway I'm looking to add more flow and was looking to see how many power heads are needed in a 45 gallon tank. I have one Korella 2 in there right now but thats not nearly enough. Any ideas as to placement and number of power heads needed? Or how many GPH I should have moving in there?
Also I have lost most of my clean up crew recently and am looking to rebuild slowly. Right now I only need to keep the detritus and fish waste to a minimum on the bottom. Is this a job for more hermit crabs or is something else better? I have two clowns and a blue tang that is leaving that tank soon for a bigger home.

 

[kevintheshrimp]

I am confused about your removing the filter part of your statement...
-shouldnt you just have cleaned the filter out and kept it running? what is your stock list in the tank, maybe overstocked? cut down feeding?
but you should have 20 times the amount of flow as your tank size in gallons.
so you have a 45 gallon that would be 900 GPH...
45g x 20 = 900gph

 

[mule31]

It was a canister filter that was trapping all the fish poop and stuff in it and causing a spike in ammonia and other issues. I've decided to move in a more natural filter with LR, a bigger refugium and a skimmer.

 

[kevintheshrimp]

skimmers work great! if you get a good one. I have a canister filter and its GREAT I clean it weekly I have also slightly modified it by removing some of the sponge filters and adding ceramic discs and plug looking things...

 

[mule31]

Yeah my skimmer is a good one for what I need. Its a back pack skimmer and I get some really thick black stuff from it. I'm happy with it and the fuge is working well too. Whats the best way to get that flow? Multiple power heads or one bigger power head? Also is it worth looking into a wave maker or are those just a waste?

 

[kevintheshrimp]

I like having two power heads because you get more coverage...I used one powerhead to start with but I had a few dead zones in the tank... and wavemakers are the wrong department for me...

 

[mule31]

Yeah they just seem expensive for me to get. So two powerheads will be the way to go for me. Thanks for the tips. Any tips as to placement of the power heads. One high and one low?

 

[kevintheshrimp]

I am not sure about this one i am not sure if putting power heads at the bottom of the tank is a good idea because of stirring up sand but I have seen it and it works great for people... I have mine setup point two different ways.
-I just played with mine until I felt current in every area in the tank!

 

[mule31]

Cool. Thanks for the tips. Hopefully now I will get some better extension on my corals and have a cleaner tank.

 

[kevintheshrimp]

hopefully we get some other people input because I would like to know others views on this!

 

[mule31]

Yeah Ive been doing a lot of reading on water flow and how it should be set up but I really would like as many tips as possible. I want to make my tank as natural looking as possible and I feel flow is a big part of that.

 

[urbanhellfire]

On my 29 gal I have two power heads one in each corner. One is facing the front glass and the other is facing the center/back of the tank. I have one hooked up to my light timer so when my lights go off one power head goes off. Then my moon lights kick-in and my corals get gently rocked to sleep

Better to have a little more flow that not enough flow

 

[kevintheshrimp]

Originally Posted by urbanhellfire
http:///forum/post/2681569
On my 29 gal I have two power heads one in each corner. One is facing the front glass and the other is facing the center/back of the tank. I have one hooked up to my light timer so when my lights go off one power head goes off. Then my moon lights kick-in and my corals get gently rocked to sleep

Better to have a little more flow that not enough flow

thats a really good Idea about the timers with the power heads!!!!

 

[aztec reef]

Not so fast<
Reef animals don't really sleep..Although some animals enter a torpor state which has no link to decreased/increased flow rate whatsoever...
Also i would keep powerheads on 24/7 especially at night, and the reason is simple: when lights go out , oxygen drops because the animals start a heavy respiration process, cause photosysntesis effect is not available anymore, which is the replenisher of comsumed oxygen..even nsw becomes hypoxic at night. few reason are: tide exchange,gravity,lunar mass pulling/pushing of the nsw..
flow is important to reef organisms, especially corals for bringing food to them, oxygenated water , and chemical exportation. Low flow= low oxygen.
low oxygen= difficulty of coral's intake and export diffussion , suffocating them in their own organic slime...

 

[kevintheshrimp]

Originally Posted by Aztec Reef
http:///forum/post/2681755
Not so fast<
Reef animals don't really sleep..Although some animals enter a torpor state which has no link to decreased/increased flow rate whatsoever...
Also i would keep powerheads on 24/7 especially at night, and the reason is simple: when lights go out , oxygen drops because the animals start a heavy respiration process, cause photosysntesis effect is not available anymore, which is the replenisher of comsumed oxygen..even nsw becomes hypoxic at night. few reason are: tide exchange,gravity,lunar mass pulling/pushing of the nsw..
flow is important to reef organisms, especially corals for bringing food to them, oxygenated water , and chemical exportation. Low flow= low oxygen.
low oxygen= difficulty of coral's intake and export diffussion , suffocating them in their own organic slime...
+ more than one!!! thanks for the awesome info thats pretty important to know haha!