Flow

Arthur

Arthur

Member
I dont want to bother you guys with long story. I have 8 years old 125 reef. Mixed corals < SPS, LPS, softies, 5 fishes> All doing great. Maybe just SPS not growing as fast as others. I know if it is not broken - dont fix it. As a return pump I have Mag-12 but i have a lot elbows and chiller is on other side the wall in laundry, little goes back to fuge ,so when i mesured how much turn over i have in tank it was like 450g/h in 125 plus 30 gal. sump. You think this is enaugh. Like i sad all corals doing good but im just curious... I have 4 Koralias in tank so there is a lot of flow.What you guys have ?
 
soory i think u where asking about return to sump not turnover within the tank ?!!??!?

anyways if your return pump is rated 450gal you on kow side
 
In my 55 running now, I have about 4200 gph between my koralia and JBJ oceanstream and return. In the 110 I'm setting up, with the closed loop alone I'll have 3400 gph, not including the 1400 I'll get from my return pumps. Total GPH in the 110 when it's done will be close to 9000 gph.

But even with that said, random flow rather than constant flow is what helps SPS growth. Throwing a bunch of pumps will only help if they're attached to a wavemaker of some sort. My closed loop with have a DIY oceans motions 4 way, and still run the oceanstream wavemaker system. I probably won't put the koralia in just because its not designed for a timer.
 
Wait, are you asking about sump turnover or in tank flow? Sump turnover shouldn't be too high at all. The longer the water is in a fuge/reaction area, the better before it returns to the tank. Some experts have written articles saying their sump turnover is as little as 1x tank volume. DT turnover is still really high, but sump to display isn't supposed to be strong, otherwise the filtration (chemical or natural) won't be as effective.
 
92 gallon tank 75 gallon sump and 20 gallon fuge my turnover is about 6 1/2 times per hour
Havng figured it out to be exact but this is qith a mag 18 with roughly 10 ft head
 
Sorry for all the confusion. I meant turnover. Im not counting 4 Koralias I have in tank. Those gives like 4800g/h. I was talking about amount of water going thru sump. Like I said my Mag 12 <rated 1200g/h> gives me only 480 g/h a lot of albows and thru chiller. Im loosing a lot power. In my sump water go thru skimmer area thru return section in the middle of sump then on the way back to tank i have a tee and ball valve and little part of that water goes to fuge where overflows back to return area. So water thru my fuge goes really slow. I did not want to whole water flow thru fuge to return section. So 480g/h thru sump...
 
I'd leave it. More sump/fuge turnover will only increase the amount of detritus dissolved in the water column. The March edition of Corals magazine made a point to say keep the display churning, but the sump a trickle. I don't feel comfortable with the idea of 1x tank volume turnover, but I'd not go higher than what you're doing now. You have a healthy tank from the sound of it.

Do your koralias operate on a wavemaker? Alternating flow is better for SPS growth than constant flow.
 
Im thinking about it. I have 2 older Koralias, those can not go with wavemaker but I have 2 Koralia Evolution. I think those can go with wavemaker. My local store has simple one for 69$ It can operate 2 pumps. Do you have any other sugestions if it comes to Wavemakers? Thanks for your help!!!
 
I have newer used wavemakers before. What's the general rule? If I have 2 or 4 Koralias then 1 or 2 on one side like for 15 min and then 2 or 1 from another side for 15 min
 
Generally yes. Mine are in 20 second intervals, but like I said, some interval is better than none. In my 55 now, I have my return and always on koralia 5 on one end, and my oceanstream I have top and middle on the left alternating.
 
I would just upgrade your pump from a MAG 12 to a MAG 18. I think that you will notice a huge difference.
 
I thougt about that too... Im happy with my Mag 12, little noisy though. I read great revievs about Water Blasters pumps. Quiet and powerfull. Any expierience with them? Right now my flow rate thru sump is less then 4x. I will think about it, maybe Ill leave it as is...
 
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