HOLY FLOW!! help me out guys

becon776

becon776

New member
O.k. So I've been stuck in the 90's with my powerhead / flow situation. went from old aquaclear 402's everything seemed happy. although having a tough time with sps lately. ANYWAY, went to K3's two of them to replace the old aquaclears. There is so much flow in there all the fish are hiding and the LPS are all retracted. Is this too much flow on a 75 gallon RR with a mag 9 return (4ft head)??? whoa.
Also how should I place them in the tank

lastly do I or should I use that little attachment that comes with them??
 
becon776 said:
O.k. So I've been stuck in the 90's with my powerhead / flow situation. went from old aquaclear 402's everything seemed happy. although having a tough time with sps lately. ANYWAY, went to K3's two of them to replace the old aquaclears. There is so much flow in there all the fish are hiding and the LPS are all retracted. Is this too much flow on a 75 gallon RR with a mag 9 return (4ft head)??? whoa.
Also how should I place them in the tank

lastly do I or should I use that little attachment that comes with them??
Click to expand...
Where are they placed at and how are they pointing ? for SPS it sounds fine, but LPS like a more indirect flow IME. What attachment came with yours ?
 
The attachment provides a more direct flow without it you get a nice wide flow. I use mine without. I'm using 2 K3s in a 90gal tank. On the right side I have it mounted a little below the half way point, pointing up and towards the K3 on the left side. On the left side I have it mounted near the top pointing somewhat down and in the direction of the K3 on the right. The return from my is also on the left and I have it cutting right thru the middle of the flow created by the K3s. Creates a nice disruptive flow. Hope that made sense. :D
 
i don't use the little attachment either. i have 2 K4s in the 90g. I have adjusted the directions a couple of times depending on placement of the coral, who likes it, who doesn't like it...right now, i have created a wave current, i guess..., with the return blowing the water across the current, which disrupts the surface just enough...the sand is getting a nice flow...torches seem to be moving in all different directions with moments in between of calm....it will depend on what is in your tank and where it is located before you come up with the optimal setting for your tank's environment.
 
Todds torch doesn't like it at all!! yellow tang hasn't come out for a minute. fish are generally unhappy. All LPS but one are unhappy. I am second guessing this decision. Everyone says flow flow flow flow... I had two ten year old aquaclear 402's in there before and it seemed like maybe I needed more flow but I don't know if I overdid it. do the corals acclimate. I will post a pic or vid later to see the arrangment.
 
I would point htem forward on an angel from the back corners of the tank pointed towards the front of the glass. This will cause it to hit the front and be redirected all over the tank, might calm things down a bit and give a lot more indirect flow!
 
I did redirect one to run directly across the backside of the tank glass which touches the outflow whereas I initially had them smashing into each other. It helped a little. we'll see how things progress.
I have figured out that I am a complete MORON when it comes to taking pics of my tank. Just have an old cheapie camera but my previous cheapie camera took decent pics. I am too embarrased to even post them. lol.
 
Flow has been one of the hardest things for me to grasp.

I tend to notice that korallias work best when they are (like stated above) angled toward the front or back glass pane, allowing it to go all over the tank.

there is no real answer to flow. I spend hours at a time messing with flow to get it right.

FWIW if u increase flow on LPS... they will look mad for a while, but eventually some like torches will get used to it. ive seen torches in both very low flow... and very high flow. as a matter of fact... one todds torch i saw under very high flow refused to close up even when a hand or something touched it. It was just THAT used to being thrashed around a lot.

best of luck,
dan
 
Wish I had your flow problems lol I dont have enough! Seems like everyone said just try messing with them, Move them around until you get it right or Im sure someone would trade you if you can't get it to work :) best of luck :)
Take care,
 
mreye23 said:
Putting the covers back on will not decrease the flow, it will just make them more stream like, kinda like a mj1200.
Click to expand...

Ahh yeah Im no help in this area as I cant seem to get the flow right in my tank either .Its either blowing the sand around or splashing the top of my light!
Good Luck :)
 
ahhhh... no no covers for me I think that would just make the situation worse. did get it straightened out have one blowing on the glass. things seem a lil happier now.
 
dan10342 said:
FWIW if u increase flow on LPS... they will look mad for a while, but eventually some like torches will get used to it.
Click to expand...

Agreed. As long as the powerhead isn't directly in front of an LPS coral, Some, (including torches) will adapt.

I would position the powerheads the way you want, then wait a day or two and see how the corals respond.

You may also want to research a type of water movement called a 'gyre'. You can move a lot of water with minimal equipment and not "blast" corals with powerheads.

Here's an article to give you a general idea of gyres: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/1/aafeature
 
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