A matter of personal opinion

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

I have fallen out of love with reefing for a few months now , however my reef has continued to thrive on its own without water changes and dosing , since I have been hanging around pop coral ( across the street) I have regained interest in my tank , so I have been thinking of increasing my water flow across my sump and was wondering what everybody else was doing?

Fast - you cycle more water through the sump and get more water into the sum socks.

Slow- you allow the skimmer and sump to scrub water for longer period .

Which is the better way to go??

 

[edd]

i don't think you gain anything by pushing more water thru sump.
i agree with less water flow and let the skimmer and socks scrub the water.

 

[shmibly]

Quite contrary to the senior above me, Ive always believed that more flow is better flow. IMO helps keeps detritus suspended, and helps the socks catch more junk. Skimmer will pull it out eventually if you never let it settle.

Matter of opinion indeed.

Let us know what you go with.

 

[ENB]

The only way to know is to setup two identical tanks and try it both ways............ :grin

 

[vio]

Quite contrary to the senior above me, Ive always believed that more flow is better flow. IMO helps keeps detritus suspended, and helps the socks catch more junk. Skimmer will pull it out eventually if you never let it settle.

Matter of opinion indeed.

Let us know what you go with.

+1, i am flow water fan, the faster u move the water, the faster remove detritus (# 1 enemy for reef, in my opinion ) that mean less PO4, less Nitrate , more healthy tank, more oxygen, solve dead spots problems , remove more CO2 from water column.etc. even chaeto like water flow on sump. The more detritus settle one sand ,rocks etc. the more problem u have, list that my opinion.

 

[Pimentinha]

Before you mess with the sump you have to carefully look at your display. If you have dead spots or some lower flow areas some of the detritus that you are going to keep suspended is bound to go into those areas and stay there because they are normally in hard to reach places. If that's the case I would say a slower flow thru the sump would be best. If no dead spots more flow will actually save you work vacuuming the sump...
Really a matter of personal opinion.

Let us know what route you decide.

 

[basiab]

Wait a minute. Lets go back to the top. Your quote "however my reef has continued to thrive on its own without water changes and dosing".
If that is true then why bother, just let it be!!!

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

This is really a mind bender , I have in fact balanced my water level and increased the flow , I'm gonna give it a week or so to see if my tank seems any different , I also changed the angles of my water return nozzles to stimulate greater water movement , I still want to see what others are doing ..... And thanks for all your input guys.

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

Wait a minute. Lets go back to the top. Your quote "however my reef has continued to thrive on its own without water changes and dosing".
If that is true then why bother, just let it be!!!

Because it can definitely look Better and my corals are in fact growing yet they lack popping color and at times my nems look a bit unhappy so I want to overall increase the life in my tank.

 

[lnevo]

Flow and sump turnover dont have to be connected. Powerheads in the tank can keep detritus suspended and take care of coral needs while return pump handles circulation to the sump and other equipment.

 

[Ariel110G]

I find my sump/macro algae and corals in my tanks thrive with more flow

 

[Dan_P]

The answer to your question is an engineering one that has been figured out already. There is a great book that explains it all. Aquatic Systems Engineering by Escobal removes the mystery, guess work and debate. The price for this wisdom is that you have to do some arithmatic and make some flow measurements to determine your desired flow rates.

Good luck!

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

The answer to your question is an engineering one that has been figured out already. There is a great book that explains it all. Aquatic Systems Engineering by Escobal removes the mystery, guess work and debate. The price for this wisdom is that you have to do some arithmatic and make some flow measurements to determine your desired flow rates.

Good luck!

Now that's what I'm talking about !!

 

[Waleedwale1]

I am pro flow. When I upgraded my tanks lighting, I saw increased coral growth, however when I upgraded from a regular korelia to a jebao wp25 in my 29 the growth rate skyrocketed. My fish looked much happier too. The tank just looks more alive with more flow. Also had less algae problems with more flow.

 

[edd]

the op is asking about flow thru sump not dt.
is that correct saltwater?
i agree with more flow in dt but not thru sump.

 

[Pimentinha]

^^+1

 

[Tonyscoots84]

I'm falling out as well :sigh:

but in my opinion being in the hobby a very long time the slower flow works better then faster in the sump

 

[vio]

I have fallen out of love with reefing for a few months now , however my reef has continued to thrive on its own without water changes and dosing , since I have been hanging around pop coral ( across the street) I have regained interest in my tank , so I have been thinking of increasing my water flow across my sump and was wondering what everybody else was doing?

Fast - you cycle more water through the sump and get more water into the sum socks.

Slow- you allow the skimmer and sump to scrub water for longer period .

Which is the better way to go??

I think is confuse, because , everybody suggest according they sump, u have to mention , what u got, what kind of sump u wish to have.

 

[lnevo]

It has nothing to do with size of sump and everything to do with total water volume. Everyone confused because they see flow and have to add their $.02

The convention I was originally told was 10x turnover (per hour) of TWV between display and sump but in many circles I've seen values as low as 4x.

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

Ok just to clear it up I'm totally referring to the sump flow , I have a 57 rimless and mp10 gives great circulation and the lock line returns also keep the water moving well , my sump is self made from a 29gal tank and it has skimmer section , refugium and return section and it works really well but again the question is in reference to the sump , I'm sorry for any confusion and appreciate all the replies and have enjoyed reading all the helpful input and opinions.