How Much Circulation Is Too Much Circulation???

[Orca1]

I'm still new and all, but it seems that the two Korilias 2 pumps I have on my 40g cube seem a little.....well, weak. I mean, I'm not looking to pull the coraline off of the rocks, but it seems there could be a little more flow. Should I add an additional circulation pump or should I leave well enough alone? I have a tendency to over think things sometimes.

Opinions?

Thanks.........Eric.

 

[Bob 1000]

As much as your drains can handle if your doing Sps,,lol... A adequate sized return pump should eliminate the need for power heads in my opinion..

 

[fernandokng]

Bob, this is so not true :lol:

As much as your drains can handle if your doing Sps,,lol... A adequate sized return pump should eliminate the need for power heads in my opinion..

 

[NYreefNoob]

ive got around 2800 gph in my 60g cube

 

[masterswimmer]

In tank flow is very different than return flow. There's no need to run the water from your tank through your sump as fast as you can. As a matter of fact, when it is run slower through your sump your skimmer and reactors will have more time to 'process' the water and filter it efficiently.

The 'in-tank flow' can also be created by powerheads. Depending upon the animals that you keep will help determine the amount of flow you need within your tank. SPS typically requires more flow than LPS or softies. You can also create different flow patterns with different types of powerheads. Two Koralia 2's in a 40g cube might be enough, depending upon the animals you keep. However, it does seem like it is on the low end even if you have lower flow demanding animals. I know people that use VorTechs on small tanks than that, successfully.

I know this was a bit vague, but the bottom line is you'll need to answer more questions before a more definitive answer can be provided.

Russ

 

[reefman]

I know this was a bit vague, but the bottom line is you'll need to answer more questions before a more definitive answer can be provided.

Russ

agree.

questions like:
what types of coral u r planin on keepin?
how does your rock structure look?
sand bottom? what type of sand?
sump? skimmer type?

Korilias r not the most effective powerheads to generate water flow IMO.

 

[Orca1]

Thanks guys.....

Here is my original link in the beginner reef section. It shows my current rock formation.

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/reefs-beginners/56100-first-attempt-reefing.html

Right now the only coral in my tank is a single mushroom. Just about everything in my tank is live (sand/rocks). Even the water is Nutri-Seawater. I've been topping off with distilled water. I'm not running a sump. The live sand is crushed arg. Eventually, I would like to have more corals, but I want to build up my bio-load slowly. The types of coral I want to have in the tank is really still up in the air. The skimmer is an AquaC Remora w/a maxi-jet 1200.

P.S.....the water doesn't look like that any more. Nitrate/Amonia/Nitrite levels are all 0. PH is 8.1

 

[jackson6745]

Eric you have too much circulation when your corals are being effected adversely because of the flow, your sand is blowing all over the place, or water is coming out of the tank .
That doesn't mean you should have extremely high flow for practical purposes.
If you have a nice gentle flow across your softies/ LPS/ and future montis, and you don't have a bunch of debris/detritus settling on your rocks, and you don't have dead spots where algae grows......you're good.

 

[MatthewScars]

not to hijack, but i have a 90 with a lot of rock. I run two K3s (850 gph each) and a Eh1260 (634 gph)return. Total GPH 2334

i run 60% LPS 10%soft 30% SPS and plan on going more SPS. Is this enough? or should I replace a K3 with a vortech?