Too much Flow?

Bmore88

Member
Hello All,
I have a 55 with a 20 gal sump. I am currently running roughly 200gph from my return. I also am running two of the SunSun 102 (claims 1300gph.)

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Choice-Products-JVP-102-Wavemaker/dp/B002480V32

My question is that my only fish (currently) is a baby maroon clown and he consistently hides in the corner. He does come out and "ride" the wave. But it is obvious it overpowers him slightly.

Is this too much flow? I opted for these as they were cheap and eventually I want to get a Gyre.

I also hope to have corals in the future and though good flow was crucial. I also would like a firefish goby and was concerned it would be to much for one of them as well.
 

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My clowns stay at the top in 1 corner most of the time. Once in a while they will swim around but not far from their corner.
 
Your clown will come out more once you add more fish. Think of it this way, in the wild when no fish are visible they are scared and stay in hiding. When all of the fish are out playing and riding the wave, they feel it's safe and no danger exists. Same applies in your tank.
 
2800gph divided by the 55g tank size is 51 turns per hour. That's some fairly serious flow. Most people with high flow sps tanks are only up in that range.

That said, clowns are very territorial and may only range around in a small portion of your tank.
 
Well I may have to remove one of them in the future when I go to add other fish or some LPS. I will have to wait and see. Also I am assuming with time these cheap powerheads will loose strength and maybe come down in flow rate a little.
 
Sorry.. I missed that you had 2 of the powerheads..
2 of those is a bit much for a fish tank.. 30x display is usually plenty.. But its really about making sure there are no dead spots,etc..
 
And how you aim the pumps is also important.

BTW, I just set up a 125g tank and the 2 Crossflows and 2 RW8 wave makers could create more than 115 turns of flow and that isn't even considering the 3500gph return pump. But I run them all at FAR below max speeds and everything (sps, lps and softies) are all doing just fine.
 
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