My observations about flow...

[LISound]

in an sps tank, I always thought more was better but recently I've been playing around with the flow in my 20g sps tank.
It seems less is better. they are not getting blasted but every now and then a good rush of water hits them otherwise they are waving back and forth and I'm getting much better polyp extension.
I have 2 mp10s. I used to run BB and and cranked them up. now with sand, i've had to turn them down but the corals are responding better.

any thoughts?

 

[drukkosz]

2 mp10 in 20g?? thats a lot of flow

 

[blakers82]

Going by the numbers off Ectotech's specifications and outside research, you would have between 160-180 times "turnover" of tank volume per hour. Most SPS guys/gals would consider this a very high amount of flow for most any reef setup. More shocking that water wasn't on the floor if you had those pumps turned up.

 

[LISound]

I can't turn them all the way up. but it seems less is more.

 

[cichlid9]

I just have one mp10 in my 20 gallon, last few days I have been amping it up little by little to see if there is any change in PE.

 

[divewsharks]

Going by the numbers off Ectotech's specifications and outside research, you would have between 160-180 times "turnover" of tank volume per hour. Most SPS guys/gals would consider this a very high amount of flow for most any reef setup. More shocking that water wasn't on the floor if you had those pumps turned up.

It's not as much as it might sound. One was definitely not enough in my 20L frag tank. 2 on opposite ends dialed down a little is much better

 

[LISound]

It just goes against all that I've learned. I would say the right flow is important. Not just a lot of it.
I set them to LNG pulse at about 40-50%

 

[blakers82]

I have an MP10 in my BB 12gal sps nanocube and I have to turn it way down or water creeps up close to the edge. It's a little too turbulent and close for my liking. And my blenny still works pretty laboriously to move around the tank. You are right in that it needs to be the right flow in the right areas and each scape/coral placement is different. You should do what you feel makes your tank happier. So you have turned them down to 40-50% or is that where you have had them?

 

[divewsharks]

I would agree the 'right' flow is what is important. what is right differs from setup to setup (what corals are being kept, aquascaping.......)

I normally run all of my vortech's currently on Lagoon mode, works well in my tanks.
Once a week i put the mp10 in my BC29 on nutrient export mode, and dial it up but only for an hour or two.

So if your corals are happy, I'd stick with it. You know your tank best.

 

[LISound]

I have an MP10 in my BB 12gal sps nanocube and I have to turn it way down or water creeps up close to the edge. It's a little too turbulent and close for my liking. And my blenny still works pretty laboriously to move around the tank. You are right in that it needs to be the right flow in the right areas and each scape/coral placement is different. You should do what you feel makes your tank happier. So you have turned them down to 40-50% or is that where you have had them?

Yes, I've turned them down. It doesn't look like a lot of flow compared to what I was running them at. But that system was BB. And I decided to add sand this time around.
I do turn them up or switch modes to stirr up the detritus on the bottom once a day.

 

[spsfreak1977]

i have a mp10 on my 28 nano turn half way up any more the sand is every where

 

[acroholicreefer]

From my experience, it seem like directional turbulent flow is the most ideal for sps corals in smaller systems. You want high flow all around the corals but not directly blasting it. I would bet that 2 hydor koralia Nano pumps provide you with the correct flow for the 20g.