60g cube circulation question

[Deranged-Jester]

howdy all,
i have another question. my tank is a 60g cube (24x24x24) it has a center overflow box with 1 1/2" drain and 3/4" return. with the tank being so small inside i really dont want to add powerheads. i have plenty of locline to get dead areas. so heres my question. the tank isnt drilled for a closed loop....would it be bad to use a magdrive 18 for all the water movement? and if it is.....why? my stand is 3 foot....tank is 2....so the mag 18 has about 1200gph. please give me your input.

 

[PelagicMagic]

If you are going to keep sps the mag 18 will be fine. It might turn your 60g into a "washing machine" so softies and lps may not like the extra current. Since you have only 1 return you may want to tee it off in a way that you can point 2 returns at each other so you can achieve erratic current. You want to avoid linear flow and with the erratic flow you will get the most out of your return pump. The mag 18 is a great pump but its going to be loud. I have a mag 36 with 2 returns pointed at each other to create erratic currents/flow and it is great. The only problem w/ the mag was its LOUD. It took me weeks to fix the noise problem. I have never used the 18 but I have been told it is loud also. Using high-density foam or pipe insulation under the pump fixes the problem. I also placed Styrofoam sheet under my sump to lower the vibration

 

[nemo g]

just in case youre not well versed in flow and "fauna", heres a simpe explanation of steves post

the "water circulation" needed varies according to what type of corals you plan on keeping. as a general rule the following applies:

soft corals = slow flow
lps= low to moderate
sps= moderate to high

there are exceptions and/or possiblities to arrange rock work or find spots to shift the aforementioned corals up or down on the flow chart.

but this is a very helpful guide, especially if you are going to be concentration on one over another. which is usually a good idea as it is easier to create a homogenous enviroment rather than a diversified one, especailly in the small quarters of "reef tanks"


good luck


nemo g
<img src="http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/116775nmav.jpg"/>

 

[Deranged-Jester]

i was planning on keeping lps / softies. hammer and frogspawn is the main ones....should i tone it down to a mag 12?

 

[PelagicMagic]

no, just keep the lps and softies where the current is not as strong. I have a hammer that loves the high current and is becoming a nuisance because it splits biweekly, I also have other lps that hate the high flow. No matter what, unless you put returns or power heads everywhere you are going to have spots where current is weaker and this would be a great place for your lps/SC. Get some halides and buy some sps. Once you go sps you never go back

 

[Deranged-Jester]

i have 1 hole on each side of the over flow box. each whole has a y adaptor of locline....so each side has 2 sections of locline for flow.....4 in total. will i still get the lower current areas? this chart shows that at 5 feet the mag 12 and 18 are almost the same....can that be right? http://www.marineandreef.com/Info/DannerPumpSpecs.html