Low flow area. Recommendations?

[Poisonus Yeti]

Hi Roger,

So far my tank has two 6101's on a multicontroller. They are placed on the sides of the tank, near the back and they are pointed towards the front of the glass. I'm having difficulty getting flow behind the rocks in the center with this configuration. Should I invest in a nano and set it back there or should I reposition my two 6101's. Your thoughts would be much appreciated!

Here's a photo of the tank:

 

[rvitko]

I would try different settings and pump placement. You might try a longer angle to the front pane.

 

[Poisonus Yeti]

Thanks for the response, Roger.

I have them set on the second interval, with about a 6 second pulse and they alternate sides every 30 seconds or so.

I'll play around with their position a little more.

Thanks again!

 

[rvitko]

Try a 3-6 hr interval and possibly try placement on the backwall in the corner hitting the front pane about 1ft from the opposite corner.

 

[rvitko]

Also try a faster pulse- 3 seconds.

 

[Poisonus Yeti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12440656#post12440656 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rvitko
Try a 3-6 hr interval and possibly try placement on the backwall in the corner hitting the front pane about 1ft from the opposite corner.

With regards to the placement part of your statement; I'm about as close to reproducing that as I can be. I'm limited to that rather tall rock structure on the left side of the tank so I placed them as far back as I could but still on the side walls. They are aimed approx 2/3's of the length of the tank opposite of them.

If I understand correctly, the 3-6 hour interval will vary one pump from the min to max for 3-6 hours while the other is at 20% the whole time?

 

[Poisonus Yeti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12440657#post12440657 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rvitko
Also try a faster pulse- 3 seconds.

Also, the pulse is the amount of time it pumps at maximum?

 

[rvitko]

Yes.

With regards to the pulse, the faster the pulse, the more turbulence you get but shorter than 3 seconds and the pumps don't quite reach full speed.

 

[Poisonus Yeti]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12441642#post12441642 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rvitko
Yes.

With regards to the pulse, the faster the pulse, the more turbulence you get but shorter than 3 seconds and the pumps don't quite reach full speed.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to help, Roger.

I will try your suggestions when I get home this evening and I'll keep you updated.

 

[Poisonus Yeti]

Well I tried the above suggestions and it doesn't seem like I'll be able to get flow behind the rocks in the middle, in between the two mega overflows without having a powerhead pointed in that direction. Due to the lack of flow algae is starting to build up back there.

If I were to place a nano stream on one of the sides (towards the front glass) with the flow directed in the middle of the two mega overflows which nano would you recommend?

 

[tbone28]

FWIW, I ended up buying a couple of nanos just to circulate water behind my rockwork. I have 2 islands, so 1 nano behind each one.

I started out with (2) 6201s in a 180g, and wasn't getting much flow back there.

 

[Poisonus Yeti]

Yea, my options would be to point a 6045 back in that direction or purchase one/two 6025's and actually place them back in that area.

 

[tbone28]

I don't have rock leaning against my back wall, so I was able to actually place the nano right above the sandbed, directly behind the rock. One less PH to look at.