Do I have enough flow?

[Rich D]

I have a 120 thats approx. 46x24x24 and am currently using two Koralia 3s that are set to a random alternating flow and are occasionally on at the same time. They are positioned on the opposite sides of the tank.

would this be considered to be enough flow for keeping moderate-difficult SPS?

Growth is decent but there is not very much polyp extension and color could be better.

 

[bigffish]

through flow

through flow

If it were me, i would be looking for somewhere in the range of at min of 1200 gph and at the top double that or 2400 gph. Part of that equation should always be the Bio load you want to keep I.E fish, inverts etc. bigffish

 

[Rich D]

what does the bioload have to do with it? I have very little in terms of fish (2 dottybacks, 1 kole tang, and a sailfin). It is still relatively young at about a year old but is mostly SPS with a couple LPS and a toadstool. I feed 3 times a week with oysterfeast and rotifeast

 

[Chiefsurfer]

well, I like 3-4x turn-over per hour as a minimum. You would have a total of about 1700 gph with those 2 pumps, but they are alternating on and off because of a controller, so let's cut that down to about 1200(when you factor time off) with a 120 gallon at 1200, you have 10x turnover. That being said, that doesn't mean everywhere gets that. I would honestly on a 4' tank spread it out in 3 pumps, maybe 4 depending on your aquascaping.

 

[Rich D]

well, I like 3-4x turn-over per hour as a minimum. You would have a total of about 1700 gph with those 2 pumps, but they are alternating on and off because of a controller, so let's cut that down to about 1200(when you factor time off) with a 120 gallon at 1200, you have 10x turnover. That being said, that doesn't mean everywhere gets that. I would honestly on a 4' tank spread it out in 3 pumps, maybe 4 depending on your aquascaping.

thats exactly what I was thinking. I was debating whether a Koralia4, a Koralia3, or two Koralia2s would be best

there are quite a bit of rocks, ill throw up a pic in a little bit

 

[davocean]

3-5x turnover is good for sump, and 30-40x turnover in display for mixed, and at least 40x and up for sps(some even have up to 100x for sps)
This is a pretty good guideline.

 

[Rich D]

3-5x turnover is good for sump, and 30-40x turnover in display for mixed, and at least 40x and up for sps(some even have up to 100x for sps)
This is a pretty good guideline.

wow 40x?! that would mean 4800 gph. my returns around 1100 gph with the koralias combined at about 1700 making my total approx. 2800 gph.

thats about 23x in the display although the return is pushing from the basement so it could be a little less than that.

an additional k4 would bring the flow up to 4000 gph and 33x volume per hour

 

[davocean]

Yep, 30x would be my min, and really 40x is a really good number to hit for most mixed, heavy sps goes much higher.
And I think just as important you'll see a great benefit from random flow if you can achieve that, lovin my vort for that reason.

 

[davocean]

Huh, site is being goofy on the DP's today

 

[streetlamp]

I have two K3's in a 33g so yea I would step it up

 

[Peale]

I have 2 K3's in a 65g and am saving to upgrade to 4s. They are great but are JUST shy of being enough to keep any dead spots moving.

 

[Rich D]

isnt it possible that too much flow can stunt a corals growth? Im worried that if I threw in a k4 too close to a coral, then it would cause it to stop growing...

 

[davocean]

Well yeah, if it's getting blasted you will strip the flesh off, so don't do that.
Try to bounce the flow off the glass or something.

 

[hilltopfarms]

3-5x turnover is good for sump, and 30-40x turnover in display for mixed, and at least 40x and up for sps(some even have up to 100x for sps)
This is a pretty good guideline.

IME it's almost impossible to get "enough" flow in the presence of any type of sand bed in the display, especially a DSB. Davo's guideline is spot on but realize that if you get anywhere near 100x your sand will be in the water instead of on the bottom. Assuming you have a sand bed of course.

 

[davocean]

Agree w/ that ^^ and not so much suggesting that as pointing out how high some do flow.
I think alot of heavy sps, or at least ones w/ that kind of flow are BB.
But pushing to 40 or even 60x can be done even w/ a sandbed depending on setup and sand grain size.