Flow flow flow

[jrjudd]

Hey Folks,
First post. I have a question about flow. I have a 120 gallon mixed reef. I have 1200 gallons/hour in the return pump and 4 1050 Koralia evolutions in-tank. I was shooting for around 4000 gallon/hour internal circulation. Here is the question I want to go with a controller that will alternate the Koralia on and off to produce an oscillating flow so only two will be on at a time. Does that take my in-tank flow below what it should be? Thanks.

 

[doctorgori]

Apex Jr for $150 will do it, it comes with 4 outlets...

As for flow: your answers will be all over the place...there are some somewhat outspoken proponents of making your reef tank into a "Salmon Run" replete with nothing less than 2 MP40s and a "closed loop" rtn pump rated at 3000GPH for a tank that size :eek2:

...and others like myself that can't grasp the difference between the different types of water movement.... :spin3:

You'll find successful tanks with just the flow you mentioned as well as those with "Salmon runs"

 

[sirreal63]

It depends on placement and how mixed the tank is. Those are kind of wimpy pumps for a 120 and SPS but a mix of LPS and softies it would be fine. I would swap two of them out for larger pumps, one large and small on opposite ends of the tank so that at any time a large and small is on.

 

[bongarone]

The 30-40x flow rate is just a rule of thumb. Proper placement of the powerheads for random flow patterns is more important.

You don't need all four power heads cycling on/off to achieve random/turbulent flow. You can have one or two heads continuously on, and the remainder cycling on/off. There will be turbulent areas where the streams intersect, and your controller will randomize it even more if you play around with the timing.

 

[jrjudd]

Thank You

Thank You

Thanks Guys, this helped along.
take care