Crys Posted August 11, 2020 Share Posted August 11, 2020 Hi all, I have a 13.5 gal and added a Hydor Koralia Nano 240 Aquarium Circulation Pump 240 GPH. I changed the direction of the pump which put a lot more circulation on the coral. The candy cane, blasto and acans all have there sweepers out much further than usual so I'm trying to figure out if that is a good thing or not. Either the current is too strong and the food moves by to fast so they are hungry all the time, or they are getting more food now so they are reaching for it and happy. The candy cane looks bigger, but I don't want to stress them. So is that too much or is it better for the coral? Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 If there's too much flow, they'll probably retract. It might be they smell something good. You should definitely turn the pump off while feeding, though. You have to let the food settle on them so they can engulf it. 1 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 The 240 isn't an overly strong powerhead. If its too much flow, the corals will retract and not fully open. Quote Link to comment
Pjanssen Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 I agree with Clown and Tired. Corals will retract with too much flow. Turn pumps off for about 10-20 minutes while feeding. Quote Link to comment
Crys Posted August 12, 2020 Author Share Posted August 12, 2020 Thanks all, This helps and explains things some things. I found a hermit crab eating a dead snail this am so the coral may have been smelling that. I will leave the pump where it is and see how the coral keep responding, but will start turning off the pump while feeding. I haven't done that in the past so it will be interesting to see if the coral grow faster. Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted August 12, 2020 Share Posted August 12, 2020 Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they were smelling that. Though I suppose it's also possible they have the tentacles out more as an instinctive response to high flow, in case there's more food. I don't know if that's something corals have been observed to do. The best way to feed corals is to turn the pumps off, set the food directly on them, and leave the pumps off until they engulf it. They can snag particles from the current if they have their tentacles out, but they get the most food into them if you let them eat it without blowing it away. It also results in less wasted food winding up downstream. Quote Link to comment
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