Any suggestions on Water Movement/ Powerhead placement

[thelawnwrangler]

Great news I am picking up my first tank today. 36 gallon Fluval M90 AIO rectangle.

I am not adding water and live rock until after thanksgiving. I will cycle that and then add CUC, and then eventually fish. I am sure I will have a 1,000 is it time yet questions.

It comes with one Powerhead, has a return pump, and I bought an additional powerhead. I have seen comments that you want it to disturb the top a little for gas exchange. Also see where you might get some algae problem areas if there isn't good flow.

So I really need some rules of thumbs for what I want to accomplish with the flow.

I think I will be mainly be trying begginer polyps at first (and by at first I mean a couple of months after I cycle and add fish and make sure I keep water correctly)

 

[davehead86]

How many GPH (gallons per hour) is the powerhead? The pump?

Disturbing the surface is highly recommended.

 

[Kconverse21]

I have mine in the back/middle of my 36g angled up so it breaks the surface but hits the front of the glass to create a flow down the front and up in the back. (this was suggested by my local reef store and it works great)

 

[thelawnwrangler]

Power head 1 500-1000 gph (assuming it is adjustable WP10 Jeabo)
power head 2 740 gph
Return pump unsure trying to find out Fluval wp1200 I think

 

[thelawnwrangler]

Thanks Kconverse is yours a Fluval?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

If your tank is going to be fish only you don't need near that much flow for a 36g tank.

 

[thelawnwrangler]

If your tank is going to be fish only you don't need near that much flow for a 36g tank.

Fish only to start trying to go slow lol

 

[davehead86]

I have a 20 tall with 850 gph flow through two powerheads. One points at the surface the other points at the back of the tank to remove a dead spot behind the rock work. My fish don't seem to mind at all. Both my clown and coral beauty swim all over the tank. You can have too much flow in a tank but with those two powerheads it's not too much.

 

[CStrickland]

I don't count the return pump, and don't think youll have too much if you stay under 1,500 total gph from powerheads. But it's not just a math thing, it's really hard to say how each tank is going to come out because of how the water travels around the rocks and bounces off the glass, and the shape of flow that diff powerheads form. You can't ever have two tanks the same, or predict how it will play out. A long skinny tank like the m90 is more likely to need more than one ph, as opposed to something squarer where everything is closer together.

once you get the water in there you can play around with diff rock arrangements and powerhead positions to find an arrangement that keeps crud from settling on your rocks and sand but doesn't blow your fish and sand out of the tank, or upset your coral.