flow rate

[slant77]

i have a 90 gl tank with a 1 inch drain line to the sump and my pump is putting out about 600 gph which is what i believe 1 inch drain line is bringing back. i have about 45 pds of live rock at the moment. 2 fish for soft corals and mushrooms do i need to have more flow? and if i need more flow how would i go about that. thanks

 

[RonD]

Its a case of more is better for the most part..and is there any dead spots in your tank... IE where there is little or no flow. Those areas you will want to either move your rocks around so they do get flow or add power heads to make the flow happen. Here is a link to the flow lose calc that will show you what you are loosing in your pipes etc and then you can make a more accurate diagnosis.

http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php

 

[PatMayo]

But to get more flow I would use powerheads. Seio or Maxijet are very popular. You don't want too much flow through your sump. If you have a skimmer and macroalgae in the sump too much flow will inhibit the skimmers operation and will probably move your cheato or whatever you are using where you don't want it.

I have a 90 gallon and you can see in my sig what I am using for flow. My return pump is a mag 7.

Regards,

Pat

 

[slant77]

okay thanks

 

[poppin_fresh]

Agreed. Fast flow through sump = bad. You need to give the skimmer, etc. time to process. You want lots of flow in the tank to circulate nutrients and keep the crud suspended until it reaches the overflow. At which time it flows to the sump and slowly works its way through to be processed and exported.