flow for shrooms

[micahdeane]

im still in the process of setting up my tank but im still trying to plan out some things i would like to have. i see that alot of the mushroom say they like medium to low flow and light. i have a 46g bow and i have two korlia 3 also with flow from a return pump is that going to be too much flow for different kinds of rhodactis or Discosoma? thanks for your time

 

[awcasper]

I have 2 Koralia 2's facing each other on a 29 gal (30" long). I think it's more flow than my mushrooms prefer since they do not open wide.

 

[micahdeane]

after calculating head loss to be about 490 gph and w/ my two Koralia 3 combine that would be 2190gph that would be little over 47 times an hour turn over thats seems like alot now lol any thoughts?

 

[Gwynhidwy]

I'm not an expert, but I think that might be too much for most mushrooms to be happy. The amount of rock that you have obstructing the flow makes a difference too though. I have about 25X turnover with minimal rock work in my corallimorph tank. If I had more rock work I would have gone for more flow than that, but not more than 35X.

 

[micahdeane]

Gwynhidwy, im just curious to what size tank you have for a 25x turnover rate?
well i can can turn down the flow from the return pump w/ a gate valve but just alone w/ the powerheads is 36x turnover. do you know if zoas like alot more flow? thanks for the info

 

[Gwynhidwy]

I have a 75 gallon for my softies. It has two in tank pumps and the sump return for flow. Like I said, since I have a very open, minimalistic aquascape my flow doesn't get diffused as much as it would if the tank was packed with rock, but my pumps are designed to provide diffused flow. This article:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-12/nftt/index.php
says that only ten times turnover is needed.

I'm sorry, but I've never kept Zoanthids, so I'm not sure what they prefer. A lot of people keep them with SPS and a lot of flow that I've seen so they may be more tolerant. But then I've seen people keep mushrooms in high flow tanks too. I think when you do that its important to make sure that the flow is diffused and not focused. Some in tank pumps are designed to do that or sometimes if you point your powerhead at the glass that can work too. Then you get water circulation without blasting critters off the rocks.

Bottom line, each tank is individual and you'll probably just have to try some flow patterns out to find what works for what you want to keep. Just having X amount of GPH won't work in every tank setup, it can be a good starting point, but that's all.

 

[micahdeane]

ok thanks for the link and help, yeah i guess i will just have to see what happens lol thanks again