I have a Tunze 6060 that flows 1600 gph. I have it set in the rockwork on the left of my tank aimed over the hill of rockwork in the center/right side of the tank. My question is: what is too much flow? Is there such a thing? I plan on having SPS in the path of the flow in the future, now only a toadstool, mushrooms, zoos are located in the front of the tank. The closest SPS will be about 8-9" in front of the stream. Please advise. Thanks
Flow Question
- Thread starter piti-u
- Start date
bheron
Active member
you can do an easy calculation. add up the flow from the tunze and then any other pumps (like from a sump). then divide it by the total gallons in your tank.
for example, if the tunze is your only source of flow, and it appears you have a 75 gallon tank. you have about 21 gallons per hour turnover. thats really good.
theres no set rule b/c alot of factors come into play. but you need at least 8-10 gph for a reef tank, and higher for SPS. 21gph is a nice amount for SPS, i beleive. some people have much less, and Ive seen tanks with much more!
you should be in the good though.
hth.
for example, if the tunze is your only source of flow, and it appears you have a 75 gallon tank. you have about 21 gallons per hour turnover. thats really good.
theres no set rule b/c alot of factors come into play. but you need at least 8-10 gph for a reef tank, and higher for SPS. 21gph is a nice amount for SPS, i beleive. some people have much less, and Ive seen tanks with much more!
you should be in the good though.
hth.
That Seems Too Low
That Seems Too Low
I have asked a similar question in the past concerning how big to size the sump pump. The answers I have gotten in the past were a minimum of 3-5 tank volumes per hour to a max of 10 tank vols per hour (i.e., SPS). That's a range of 225 to 750 gph, a lot higher than suggested above.
What I am missing here?
That Seems Too Low
I have asked a similar question in the past concerning how big to size the sump pump. The answers I have gotten in the past were a minimum of 3-5 tank volumes per hour to a max of 10 tank vols per hour (i.e., SPS). That's a range of 225 to 750 gph, a lot higher than suggested above.
What I am missing here?
Related Question
Related Question
OK, so lets say you want 20 tank volumes per hour. The AGA and Oceanic systems come with an overflow rated at a max of 600 gph for their 75g tanks. So to in order to bump up the total flow to 1500 gph (75g x 20 volumes per hour), would one make up the difference with Powerheads in the tank?
Related Question
OK, so lets say you want 20 tank volumes per hour. The AGA and Oceanic systems come with an overflow rated at a max of 600 gph for their 75g tanks. So to in order to bump up the total flow to 1500 gph (75g x 20 volumes per hour), would one make up the difference with Powerheads in the tank?
bheron
Active member
pit-u: i would say you should be able to keep it directly in line with the tunze, but maybe several inches away. not right up against the tunze. but i would think the direct path would produce a nice, heavy flow for an SPS.
Tobman - youre pretty much on the mark. but, the 600gph rating of the tank's overflow is the max. what matters is how many gph your return pump is putting INTO the tank, not what's coming out.
ho bag - great name. yep, you have it right. but besides the amount of flow, it depends on positioning. for example, you could have 50 times the turnover per hour, but your powerheads could be pointed at the back of the tank and buried under rocks. then you'd have a really inefficient flow. conversely, you could have only 6 times the turnover, but have your powerhead positioned really well in your tank. with a 21g tank, you should be just fine with what you have now.
Tobman - youre pretty much on the mark. but, the 600gph rating of the tank's overflow is the max. what matters is how many gph your return pump is putting INTO the tank, not what's coming out.
ho bag - great name. yep, you have it right. but besides the amount of flow, it depends on positioning. for example, you could have 50 times the turnover per hour, but your powerheads could be pointed at the back of the tank and buried under rocks. then you'd have a really inefficient flow. conversely, you could have only 6 times the turnover, but have your powerhead positioned really well in your tank. with a 21g tank, you should be just fine with what you have now.
Similar threads
