What is the best for water movement in a large tank?

[malalite]

The tank I have is a 280+ gallon tank that is 8ft long x 26 inches x 26 inches.
I was going to go with Korillia but I just got 2 of the new models and even after the piece to "fix" it still does not work.
Tuzene and Vortech seem to be popular but what do people with larger tanks use?
How many should I get 2, ect?
The system will have a dart returning water from the sump and total system volume will be 600 gallons if that helps....

 

[bag151]

Depends on the tank layout. I use 4x Tunze 6105's and a Barracuda CL in my 72x34x30 and still think I need more flow. I have had both Tunze and Vortech's, but in my layout I couldn't have the Cables running down the outside of my stand with the Vortech's so I sold them and went with Tunze's. I would go with 6205's, 6305's, or MP60's down the length of your tank. You can add 6105's in deco rocks for flow in more specific deadspots in the tank.

 

[nsamouroux]

360 gallon display, I had four Koralia Magnum 8 pumps (3250 gph) and they were far too strong, I couldn't point them anywhere safely without almost 400 lbs of fine grain sand going everywhere. I sold two of them and bought four Koralia 4 pumps, and another 100 lbs of larger grain sand for a top layer. With these four smaller pumps plus my two remaining Magnum 8s and the sump return I'm sitting at about 40x display turnover per hour. I still have to be careful where I point the Mag 8s, but I'm quite happy with the price and functionality of Koralia pumps on my large tank. A closed loop would have been less intrusive, but I don't really notice the powerheads on a 3' wide tank and I felt the potential hassles of a closed loop and somewhat permanent flow / layout were not worth the aesthetic benefit.

 

[scubasteve06]

Tunze 6305's would be optimal. They are able to be ramped from 2,000ish gph to 8,000gph with the 7195 controller. The 6205's would be a good choice also but they move (someone correct me if I am wrong) 4-5,000gph IIRC and can be ramped up and down with the same controller. Most people that keep SPS and some LPS shoot for at least 40x turnover if not much more.

 

[TJQ]

I will be using 2 MP60s in my 96x24x30, with one pump on the left side of the tank positioned near the back, and the other on the right side of the tank positioned towards the front. I can't speak from experience, but I expect that this should be more than adequate.

Prior to the MP60s I was planning on using four MP40s.

 

[bag151]

TJQ I suspect you will end up adding power heads over time.

How you position your rock stack also effects the flow characteristics in the tank. Two pumps may create a big gyre in the tank which is good for general flow, but some corals may need even higher flow or you might end up with dead spots in areas that will need attention.

 

[malalite]

Sounds like Tuzne and EchoTech are out in front. Are controllable ones a must ? What is the benifit you recieve on them vs say Tuzne 6065 which has a constant flow?

 

[bag151]

Most of the high output powerheads seem to be controllable. It's nice to be able to reduce the flow to prevent sandstorms and the variable rates help add turbulent flow vs. more laminar flow of fixed powerheads. I do like the sync modes which give that wave action that makes the tank look more realistic. It's not totally needed, but a nice feature.

 

[malalite]

Thanks for all the info, I may start with 2 MP10wES. Fairly cheap, and comes with a wireless controller which is a bonus. I could reuse my 2 HydroKor 5's and with the Dare giving me around 2500 GPH on my returns that should give me enough to play, with the idea that I can always upgrade by adding an additional MP10wES or possibly a larger 40.
If you see any problems let me know, otherwise thanks so much for the info.

 

[tom obrecht]

I have used sea swirls in the past and like them for two reasons. very low profie yet good movt. I tkink they just came out with larger model for large tanks.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

your main pump is the heart of a reef aquarium- especially in large reef aquariums.

Penductors/eductors will increase flow via the venturi effect and worth looking into IMO/IME.

 

[tom obrecht]

your main pump is the heart of a reef aquarium- especially in large reef aquariums.

Penductors/eductors will increase flow via the venturi effect and worth looking into IMO/IME.

Good point and I have seen these on larger tanks with good results. The best part is that they require little to install, are inexpensive and can be used with exsiting equipment.

 

[willj313]

what is Penductors/eductors

 

[Dustin1300]

Google Penductors/eductors.

http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/KT-P-M07.html?fe_feedid=126

 

[reefsafe]

I have been running two mp60's on my 280 and love them.

 

[malalite]

Reefsafe, I just bought 1 MP40 to try it out, I was looking at the mp60 and it is almost double or at least only 10 dollars from it. Is it really worth almost twice as much? Would you not be better served getting two MP40's and having more diverse flow? I would really like to hear your opinion as you actually have them.
Thanks

 

[jer77]

I've been looking at the penductors and from what I've read I'm pretty curious. How well do they circulate the tank water as apposed to creating straight forward flow? Is one effect more than the other?

 

[sabodish]

on my old 360 gallon (8x3x2) i had an ampmaster 3000 for a return (tells you how long ive been around..haha) which fed the tank through 5 inlets, then i added two 1" seaswirls running off of mag drive pumps...

on my new 180 cube, i have a mag 7 for a return and i am running two closed loops with OM 4 ways on dart pumps...the flow in this tank is insane, and i still get spots where detritus settles.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I've been looking at the penductors and from what I've read I'm pretty curious. How well do they circulate the tank water as apposed to creating straight forward flow? Is one effect more than the other?

the water movement you want to create in a reef aquarium is called a gyre. Penductors are excellent for this purpose. Use penductors with a pressure rated pump.