On the right track?

[HarlequinTusk]

While I've never kept a reef tank, I have kept a FOWLR before. I'm in the process of setting up a 210 gal aquarium. My long term goal is to turn it into a mixed reef aquarium. However, for the first year or two, it'll be a FOWLR with "maybe" some polyps and soft corals. I'm trying to purchase equipment that will handle my short and long term goals. Research has told me that SPS tend to require strong water flow and strong lighting, and LPS tend to require moderate water flow and medium intensity lighting. I'd like to use a small particle sands for gobies and wrasses I'll be keeping that like to burrow or sift through the sand. My mixed reef plan is to have SPS near the top, LPS in the middle, and soft corals near the bottom. I have already purchased Aquatic Life 61" Hybrid T5HO 4x80W lighting fixture of which I'll add LED lighting when it comes time to add stony corals. I'm leaning towards an Ecotech Marine MP40WQD circulation pump that I'd keep high in the tank. Am I making any glaring mistakes so far?

 

[RobZilla04]

A single MP40 will not suffice for a 210g aquarium. Likely you'll need three or even four for your long term goal. They can be easy to add over time and often come up for sale in the used sections of the forums.

Good choice for lighting! Pair the T5's with four or six A360W-E Kessils and you'll have a show stopper if everything else is right.

 

[manateemark]

I agree you’d be looking at an mp60 or 2 plus a couple of mp40’s most likely. Also pumping out that much snow you’re going to want a more coarse sand Because you will find that it will just blow around with the high flow needed for sps. Sand sifting gobies and wrasses are okay with anything up to Carib sea aragonite special grade sand.

 

[HarlequinTusk]

I agree you’d be looking at an mp60 or 2 plus a couple of mp40’s most likely.

From looking at the Vortech Flow Calculator it looks like two MP60's would be overkill. Three MP40's would be adequate according to the calculator. Of course that's assuming the calculator is accurate.

If my "eventual" SPS corals are near the top, I wonder if there's a way to aim the Vortechs so that they have very high flow near the top, and far less flow at the bottom. I know when I had a 90 gal tank with a few Maxi-Jet powerheads, I found it was hard to get a lot of flow at the bottom unless I placed them that low. Those powerheads were nothing compared to the Vortech, but the principle is the similar.

Note: my 210 is 72" L x 24" W x 29" H. I actually chose the 29" height 210g over the 24" height 180g with the idea that I might be able to keep it a little calmer on the bottom while still having enough flow to blow detritus out of the sand.

 

[manateemark]

From looking at the Vortech Flow Calculator it looks like two MP60's would be overkill. Three MP40's would be adequate according to the calculator. Of course that's assuming the calculator is accurate.

If my "eventual" SPS corals are near the top, I wonder if there's a way to aim the Vortechs so that they have very high flow near the top, and far less flow at the bottom. I know when I had a 90 gal tank with a few Maxi-Jet powerheads, I found it was hard to get a lot of flow at the bottom unless I placed them that low. Those powerheads were nothing compared to the Vortech, but the principle is the similar.

Note: my 210 is 72" L x 24" W x 29" H. I actually chose the 29" height 210g over the 24" height 180g with the idea that I might be able to keep it a little calmer on the bottom while still having enough flow to blow detritus out of the sand.

The ecotech calculator is if you are running the pumps at 100%, which you will not be doing all of the time as it would probably be on reefcrest, meaning they're at an average of 75%. I run 2 MP40's on a 72 gallon and would like a 3rd for my back wall. What the calculator says is different than actuality. Look at what other people who are doing SPS are using for flow on similar sized tanks to get an idea.

 

[Finland]

I'm leaning towards an Ecotech Marine MP40WQD circulation pump that I'd keep high in the tank. Am I making any glaring mistakes so far?

As stated above, one mp40 will not be nearly enough. A minimum of 2 would be needed with 4 being better. You might consider a pair of maxspect gyres, one on each end of the tank, near the top. I have both mp40's and maxspect gyres. Both are excellent pumps, but I like the gyres a little more.