72Gal Bowfront Recommendation

[MD11Driver]

Roger,

You must be getting sick of these questions, but being a newbie, I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing.

I'm in the process of setting up a 72gal AGA Bowfront. Dimensions are 48x18x22. About 80lbs of rock that is open with lots of ledges & crevices. I plan on having a mixed variety of corals including soft, SPS & LPS. Sand is about 2 inches deep & my return is around 700gph.

I love the idea of the Streams but am worried that it would be too much for my size tank. Would one 6000 with a controller overwhelm my tank? How about one 7300/2 or maybe even a 7100/2 on each end??? Thanks for all the great work you do on this forum.

Roland

 

[andyco]

tagging along with same setup / same question

 

[rvitko]

Depending on rock structure and inhabitants the 6000 with a single controller could work, the 7300/2 and 7400/2 are also viable options. The 7100/2 is really more of a return pump and not a good choice for flow, it is essentially a 7400/2 designed for high pressure applications.

 

[MD11Driver]

I have a lot of rock. It's centered from one end of the tank to the other & is fairly open and tall. It comes to within about 3 inches of the surface in some spots. The tank is new so I don't have many inhabitants yet, but I would like to have a mixed variety of corals in the long run.

Would a 7***/2 positioned near the top, have enough spread to reach the lower areas? How about a 6000 down low in the ceramic rock - Would I get enough surface action with that? What about a 7200/2 with multicontroller on each end for good back & forth movement? Sorry for all the questions, but I want to make sure to get this right before I make the investment. Thanks.

Roland

 

[rvitko]

The 2 7200/2 with the multicontroller would be the best choice. The large bulk of rock would almost make the Streams useless. The flow is not under pressure and any obstacles seriously reduce flow. With 2 7200/2 or even 7300/2 you would be covered and with the bowfront you can angle the flow so it bounces off the front real nice and covers almost everything.

 

[MD11Driver]

Thanks for the help Roger . I think I'll be going with the 7200/2's.

Roland