Willistein
Active member
OK, who here can give me some recommendations for flow in a 120? With one corner overflow capable of 700 gph or so, what else should I do for additional flow? Maxijets-mods? Hydors? A Dart on a closed loop and OM 4-way?
Flow for a 120
- Thread starter Willistein
- Start date
zooman72
New member
Hydor Koralia's and modded Maxi-Jet's would be less expensive, but maybe a Vortech MP 40? Pricey, but seem to be quite good - have seen them on a few tanks and liked what I saw. In fact, I think I am going to try one (MP 10) on one of my tanks (20g long).....I am sure a few other members here will weigh in.
Willistein
Active member
What I like about the powerhead option is the flexibility for changes down the road. The last thing I want is a bunch of 2" holes in the tank that I can't move... I'll check out the vortech too - thanks!
A lot of what you want to know depends on what type of corals you want to keep. At a minimum I would say 15 to 20x turnover rate of your water volume. If you want mostly SPS then quite a bit higher say up around 40x turnover. You want randomized flow and I've been sold on the Vortechs personally but Koraillias or a similar pump would be great too. For a 120 I would say three K4s would be a great choice but probably two would be suffice.
Willistein
Active member
Going to probably be mixed 50/50 sps and lps. Do you use a vortech now?
you could always use directional outputs for fine-tuning and a valve to throttle back the pump a bit.
for my next system I don't want any cords or pipes going over the side or visible powerheads, so I will probably go with a closed loop. I dunno if that's something you care about or not, but I want it to be open top and much more aesthetically pleasing than my last tank.
I do like the look of the vortechs but they are pricey. I wish they'd come out with the exact same pump with far less controllability for cheaper.
Willistein
Active member
Yeah, I should stop by, I'm right down the road. PM me your #
Fritz, are you setting up a tank soon? I remember meeting you years ago!
I do want aesthetically pleasing, but I'm going to have a canopy. What I don't want is visible cords, but some limited pump visibility in the tank is OK.
jfl14609
Active member
Capt_Cully
Active member
Personally (Jeff, not trying to rain on your parade) I don't like the look of the flow that Waveboxes provide. No doubt they'll give you insane growth if done properly.
I've also become a firm believer in collateral flow and gyre flow. I used to get amped up about getting a monster return pump for faster turn over. I think as long as you can supply your sump, refugium, skimmer etc with a good amount of flow (600-700gph in your case) you can make the rest up inside the display with adequately placed powerheads.
Sure Tunze streams are great and so are Vortechs. But if you wanna stay within an tighter budget, you can get a lot of bang for your buck with MJ1200-1600s with the mods. Seios are nice too.
If you can get the water moving as a whole (a gyre) and break it up with some strategically placed powerheads that can work for you too. Maybe look into penductors for your return and support it with some powerheads, then put one or two powerheads coming back at it with a timer for an intermittent break up of your gyre. Check out Gary M's "new canvas" thread for an in depth discussion. I realize this sounds like a lot of powerheads, but the options and combinations are endless. All comes down to "what do you like?".
I've also become a firm believer in collateral flow and gyre flow. I used to get amped up about getting a monster return pump for faster turn over. I think as long as you can supply your sump, refugium, skimmer etc with a good amount of flow (600-700gph in your case) you can make the rest up inside the display with adequately placed powerheads.
Sure Tunze streams are great and so are Vortechs. But if you wanna stay within an tighter budget, you can get a lot of bang for your buck with MJ1200-1600s with the mods. Seios are nice too.
If you can get the water moving as a whole (a gyre) and break it up with some strategically placed powerheads that can work for you too. Maybe look into penductors for your return and support it with some powerheads, then put one or two powerheads coming back at it with a timer for an intermittent break up of your gyre. Check out Gary M's "new canvas" thread for an in depth discussion. I realize this sounds like a lot of powerheads, but the options and combinations are endless. All comes down to "what do you like?".
Capt_Cully
Active member
Tank layout is definitely a big factor. Paint the back black and watch the cords disappear......:eek1:
Henry Colf
New member
On my 90 I run a Ocean Runner 6500 for my return pump that feeds 2 loc-line eductors and run 2 Korilla 3's and have some real good flow working in the tank. The eductors are in the back corners facing the front and the two korilla's are in the front angled twoards each other crossing about in the middle of the tank. I actually get pretty good variations in movement from my lps. Just an example of what you could do...
jdoenumber2
New member
Im love my vortech on reef crest. Makes all of the water in my tank move. No dead spots. If i want a wave i will run it on short pulse mode. I prefer move of a random gyre then a back and forth motion. Keep in mind i run mine on a 60 cube. Half of a 120. I have seen one and two in 120s. Awesome pump.
dan, I remember meeting you also - I believe it was at a frag swap at dave playfair's, but this is going way back! I am setting up a tank, but I'm taking my time.
Jacwil
New member
Hmmmm...I never thought about putting my Vortech, (or any other PH), on the back glass. Are there any neg's for doing this?
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