water movement

officerricv

officerricv

New Member
hello,
well still working on my cycle and really excited . i have to power heads at 190 gph, bak pak 2r, and a whisper 60( 330 gph. does this sound like ample water movement for a 55 gal. i was pondering getting another power head of 190 gph and placing it it the center of the tank as i have one on each end. is this necessary? can this be to much movement? u all have been so helpful
 
overanalyzer

overanalyzer

Active Member
I don't think it is hard to get to the too much movement point. The effects of not having enough are disatrous though. some questions:
1. Do you have movement @ all water levels and not just the top?
2. Do you have movement behind your rocks?
3. Do you have a slight ripple on top of your water? (You are using a HOB so you will be getting O2 exchange there as well)
You should be able answer YES to all three questions.
Now - you have roughly 12 times per hour tank water turn over. Some people like having 20 times per hour as a mark .... personally I don't look @ that so much as providing flow in the right areas. I right now have 3 pumps/powerheads in my 20 plus a HOB tetra tec with two outputs to get enough flow into the right areas.....
 
slowest is fastest

slowest is fastest

Member
It sounds like you have enough water moving on the surface but what about lower in the tank? One of the least expensive positive changes a person can make is to add more current/flow to their tank.
To answer you question though ...adding another powerhead to your tank especially 190 gph is definately not to much. Consider moving one you have to the middle and getting another that produces even more flow for the end.
Good Luck
SiF
PS I currently run power heads and pumps totaling more than 4000 gph in my 120 gallon reef.
 
bigmac

bigmac

Member
looks goog to me to....I'd keep a few moor powehead hanging around,...............Have you thought about using a closed loop system?
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
I think adaquate circulation is often over looked. I like to have a fairly high turn over of my system...plus I like to insure the current is sort of random and chaotic.
My 55 has a pair of Maxijet 900's low behind the LR to prevent deadspots behind the wall. They run about 230 GPH each. Then I have a couple of Maxijet 1200's located at opposite ends of the reef located near the top and blowing towards the front center...each of them push about 295 GPH. Added to the Maxijets approximate 1000 GPH is my MagDrive 1200 that returns from my sump/refugium at about 800 GPH...approximately total GPH is 1800 GPH. Sounds like a lot I know...but it insures a random current with no dead spots. To tell the truth I could probably use even more.
NMREEF website
“Whiskey for my men...beer for my horses.”
nmreef@cox.net
 
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