Playing with Flow

[Incitatus76]

Hi guys,

 

I have a Red Sea cube that is about 30 gallons (I'm in Europe and dealing with liters), and I have been using additional pumps because I'm not the biggest fan of the one that came with the tank (noise at night and not a lot of flow).

 

I ordered various Koralias, being unsure of what would be quiet enough and strong enough. I have the 1150gph model, which I'm seeing is just way too powerful, so I plan on using the 450gph model I ordered instead.

 

Now the question: Would it make any sense to put the 1150gph model on a timer and have it run every 2 hours for 15 minutes during daylight hours to clear out dead-spots and stir things up a little? Or will this just infuriate everything in my tank for no good reason?

 

Thank you, guys, for your advice. I always find the posters here to be incredibly helpful.

[patback]

I feel as if that would just make a mess.  It would be better if you could get a controller to pulse it like the ecotech nutrient export does.  If you watch a video of it in action it sort of just lifts detritus up.

[A Little Blue]

Try it and see what happens. I'm in maximum flow camp so 1150gph is less than a quarter flow in my own tank of similar volume. Try different placements, angles etc. When you find the optimal spot, let it run on timer for short periods of time. Chances are that your corals with acclimate to those changes over time. When they do, you can increase duration again. 

You need to be aware that acclimation is a huge part of success. You would acclimate your corals slowly to light, alkalinity, nutrient changes, so apply the same mindset and logic to changes of flow. 

[Incitatus76]

Thanks, Little Blue. That's good advice. I've had a pretty strong flow going--at about 2/3 this, with a big Tunze pump, but it was just making too much noise--although my corals were doing fine. Now I've got the 1150 going intermittently, with the 450 and the pump it came with going constantly. It shakes everyone up for a bit, but my SPS seems to love it, my toadstool can deal with it, and my carpet anemone is a bit perplexed.

[A Little Blue]

46 minutes ago, Incitatus76 said:

Thanks, Little Blue. That's good advice. I've had a pretty strong flow going--at about 2/3 this, with a big Tunze pump, but it was just making too much noise--although my corals were doing fine. Now I've got the 1150 going intermittently, with the 450 and the pump it came with going constantly. It shakes everyone up for a bit, but my SPS seems to love it, my toadstool can deal with it, and my carpet anemone is a bit perplexed.

As long as you don't blast more "fleshy" corals or nems with a direct flow, they should be able to take it. The only concern with increasing flow is: your most flow sensitive species, sandbed if you have it and doing so in incremental and sensible matter. There are ways to address all of these points. But first, you need to prioritize what's important to you. Are you moving toward more sps dominant tank, could you replace some of the sand with a coarser grain sand, if necessary, could you find a better spot for your lps/softies to increase the flow? These are just a few things you might want to consider and answer them honestly. Even though, you might be able to increase your flow without any changes, it's also possible that you will have to address few issues that might come up in the process. I consider my tank to be healthy overall and I have number of species that supposed do poorly in high flow/light environment. I don't find it to be the case and they're all thriving. However, I can't say with confidence that my results can be repeatable therefore, I would say do it with caution and do it slowly. Slowly is a formula that should be applied to any changes in your tank but it's often forgotten or simply ignored.