6-ft tank flow recommendations

[pisanoal]

Hey all,

I'm considering changing my flow setup yet again. I'm having a hard time coming up with something I like. My current setup is two gyre pumps (one 150, one 250) setup horizontally on opposite sides. They move a ton of water but there are several things I don't like:

1. Noise (I don't run them much past 50% because of this, even then, they are still noisy)
2. Lack of flow variability - its great in the center, but its hard to get truly randomized flow everywhere, especially on the sides of the tank where it is always basically from one direction of very slow
3. Flow reach - when I have one pump on from the opposite side, I have very little flow on the far side of the tank

My thoughts were to put 4 pumps in the 4 corners of the tank. Then I could cycle between the 4 in any number of patterns to create lots of flow variation throughout the day. I was thinking something with a narrow pattern for better penetration across the tank.

My options I was considering were hydor gen 3 (largest) - advantage there is size and placement options. Flow doesn't seem great for the rating.

Tunze 6045's or 6065's. Anything larger is outside my budget. Looking to completely (or mostly) cover the cost of that change by selling my gyre's

Side Notes: Most of my acros are in the center, I have a few easier ones on the edges. I'm looking for better flow as my growth isn't great, and ive got algae and sandbed cyano issues with not a very high nutrient load in the tank. I also have a seaswirl in the middle of the tank for the return.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

I use 2 Sea Swirls located on the rear next to the 2 overflows & can blow the sand in the corners if I push the pump up.
Can you add another one?

 

[pisanoal]

Thanks for the reply. I hadn't thought about it, but I think that's a more expensive, less flexible option for my situation. My SeaSwirl is on my return pump, so id basically have to add a closed loop to do that. That would mean a pump, another SeaSwirl and plumbing. It would also have to be a hang over the back type setup.

Another challenge I would run into would be the positioning of the seaswirl. because of my canopy, it would basically have to be mounted directly over the tank, thus blocking lights. I guess I could mount it over my canopy and run a long pipe down to the tank, but a leak would be a big issue since it would be over the lights.

I'm honestly not even really convinced I need the one I have in there. I thought about going down to smaller eductors and pushing the same flow for increased velocity.


I'd really like to stick to powerheads so that I can move them around easily and maximize flexibility.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

2 smaller tunze pumps near the bottom of the rear corners should do it.
They show up on the used equipment forum.

 

[pisanoal]

I like that idea a lot instead of what i was planning. I think I'd still go with 4 in the rear bottom corners pointed at various corners/angles for good variation.

Thanks for your help.

 

[tom obrecht]

I personally use 4 Tunze in the corners as you are considering. I’ve tried many different options thru the years including the gyres and have always returned to 4 powerheads in the corners. That being said I’m not sure the units you are looking at will be enough. I’d recommend 6095’s as a minimum and lean more towards 6105’s on a controller. That’s a big chunk upfront tho. Occasionally the 6095’s and 6105’s do show up on the used forums and probably is your best bet. Good luck.

 

[pisanoal]

I personally use 4 Tunze in the corners as you are considering. I've tried many different options thru the years including the gyres and have always returned to 4 powerheads in the corners. That being said I'm not sure the units you are looking at will be enough. I'd recommend 6095's as a minimum and lean more towards 6105's on a controller. That's a big chunk upfront tho. Occasionally the 6095's and 6105's do show up on the used forums and probably is your best bet. Good luck.

Too late... Haha. I already ordered 4 6065's. Hopefully they will be enough. I typically only run one gyre at a time at 50-60 percent, so two 6065s will be about the same if the flow rates are to be believed. Ill run all of them probably half the time and 2 the others.

Based on the flow dynamics videos BRS does, the 6065 will reach the length. 6105 would definitely have been better, but soending 1200 on powerheads wasnt in the cards for right now... For the record, I'm not arguing with your opinion, I'm more trying to convincine myself i made the right move... Haha. They will be here Friday so we will see!

Thanks for posting!

 

[tom obrecht]

Hopefully they work well! Good luck!

 

[pisanoal]

Hopefully they work well! Good luck!

Thanks! I'll try to remember to post back here with results

 

[pisanoal]

Quick update, the 6065's look like plenty of flow. With 2 of them on, i get great turbulence in the center where my sps are. My lps move nicely on the edges. I definitely have more and improved flow over my gyres.

I'm wondering just how much companies sandbag their flow numbers. These tunzes move tons of water compared to similarly rated pumps

Side note, I know we all know patience is key in this hobby, and just for proof, two 6095's popped up today on the f/s thread for 225 shipped with their controllers (one newer style). Could have gotten two of them for the sams price as 2 6065's.

On the positive side, this is the first time ive felt really good about the amount and variability of my flow setup.

 

[pisanoal]

Here is a photo of how i set them up. I wanted to get them down behind the rocks pointed up, but couldn't pull that off. One is mojnted on the back wall pointed across the back, the other right "in front" on the side wall pointed towards the front wall half way down the tank. Sorry for cyano and bad photo quality...

I get some nice flow patterns by switching which pumps i have on.

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