flow?

[garrett_ta2000]

How much flow do you guys recommend for a 125 gal. sps dominated tank? I was told to multiply the tank size by 35 and 40 (4375gph - 5000gph) and keep it around there. I just want to get some other opinions.

 

[dudley moray]

you want enough that the surface ripples but not so much that it's blowing the sand around i would say 10-15 times tank volume

 

[Gold Flake]

For a sps tank i would say around 35x up to 50x. In mine i have 2 Vortech mp40 on 95% the tank 66x24x20 about 115 gallons. Not sure what it works out at though.

 

[Mattik]

Mine has around 55X and it does fine. With SPS, I would definitely be in the higher end of the ranges.

Also, use indirect flow. Any corals, rocks, glass, etc that is getting directly blasted by a PH will gather unsightly algae. I angle mine toward the surface a bit so the direct flow shoots into the open water column, and the rest of the tank gets flow from recirculation of the current.

 

[cham]

For a sps tank i would say around 35x up to 50x. In mine i have 2 Vortech mp40 on 95% the tank 66x24x20 about 115 gallons. Not sure what it works out at though.

52.17 turn over rate

 

[garrett_ta2000]

Ok, thanks guys. . .all my pumps and my overflow equall 5100 gph which is rite over 40x . . .If it's not enough I can always add another pump. I'm considering a vortech mp 40. I'm just not sure if I wanna dump the cash on it.

 

[29reef]

There's really no exact number that will work. You need enough to keep water moving and also to carry food to corals and waste away from them.

Fwiw I have two Tunze 6060 and an iwaki 40 on a 45 gal tank and sps and lps are very happy. I think it's got about 80x turnover.

 

[Amphiprion]

Agreed. You'll find that a reasonably wide range works, depending on how things are positioned relative to the flow and how the powerheads/effluents are arranged themselves.

 

[velvetelvis]

Also, use indirect flow. Any corals, rocks, glass, etc that is getting directly blasted by a PH will gather unsightly algae. I angle mine toward the surface a bit so the direct flow shoots into the open water column, and the rest of the tank gets flow from recirculation of the current.

I never knew that. Does this cause algae to grow, or do they just end up catching algae that's being blown around the tank?

 

[dudley moray]

well i guess i was wrong after adding it up my flow is at 40 x volume !