Vortech MP10 settings... trying to decide

[MusicTeach]

Hey reefcentral!

I've had my tank up and running since mid-October at this point. I have a pair of MP10's, one on one side, and one on the other. Oddly, even though they were the same height, one was sucking air while the other wasn't, and I've had to lower it almost 2 whole inches so that it stops sucking air. Unfortunately, now it's disturbing some polyps and my sand bed. Do we know why this happens, or is there a way to work around this without having to lower my powerhead as much?

Second, I was talking with my local LFS the other day, and they suggested that I just have them bounce back and forth. Is that anti-sync? Also, as they are both currently running constantly, that would drastically reduce the amount of flow by half... but perhaps that is okay.

Tank Specs:
Reefer 350, 4 feet long
73 gallons
LPS, Zoa, and Ricordia Tank Currently

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

[Xandernfs]

I have mine on reef crest mode and NTM. I find that these two modes work well and create a lot of random movement in the tank. I run my MP40 on my RSR 250 on anti-sync so that you don't have a ton of turbulence in the middle where they hit and no where else. This creates good flow through out the tank.

 

[jacksonpt]

Based on personal experience, the recommendations of ecotech, and suggestions from some local refers, mine are placed on either end of the tank set in long pulse mode anti-sync for an alternating gyre. I do put them into sync mode occasionally to help with some deadspots based on my rock work, but long pulse anti-sync is the primary setting.

 

[MusicTeach]

Thanks for the suggestions! How high up do you keep your vortechs?

 

[jacksonpt]

Because of the shape/dimensions of my tank and the way I have it scaped, I keep them as high as I can without them sucking surface air.