Water flow- What is your choice and flow rate?

[vetteguy53081]

One thing is for sure on R2R- There are many types and configurations of tanks on here from fowler to SPS only to mixed reefs and even softie tanks. Often we see a post asking "Does my flow rate look right?" What is flow rate?

LPS and Soft Coral dominated aquarium do best with constant water movement or even gyre action being moderate in movement.
With SPS tanks, turbulent flow is desired and with mixed reef tanks, you have to balance flow which can be a challenge.

Each type of flow has to be considered and flow rate has to be used in terms of what is best along with lighting.
I use 7 pumps with randomized flow, constant flow and gyre flow based on a Mixed reef tank.

WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE OF FLOW AND WHY DO YOU USE IT?
ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR FLOW OR DO YOU THINK IT COULD USE SOME TWEAKING?

 

[KentuckyKobra]

We gotta keep one of these threads open and going for continued dialogue. I’ve been in the hobby for a long time, but still mess around with flow and getting it right. I’ve been using Jebaos for years, and will probably continue to do so. I have one that’s been with me for 5 years and still works.

My current tank is a 5 foot 150 gallon mixed reef and I have a Jebao Gyre on one side with 2 of the SOW pumps on the other. All set on “else” mode. It seems to do the trick.

 

[WestMI-Reefer]

The hygger mini wavemakers do great in nano’s, adjustable times, power, speed, and wave type

 

[vetteguy53081]

The hygger mini wavemakers do great in nano’s, adjustable times, power, speed, and wave type

I just bought a Hygger for a backup. Crazy blue color versus standard black in the industry.

 

[exnisstech]

I run a mixture of vortechs, mp10s + mp40s, nero 5s, and a couple of jebao across 3 tanks. I don't bother trying to calculate turn over rate etc.
I tried gyres once but they were too noisy for me. No matter how I placed them they always got a bubble and had to be burped to quite them down.

 

[EricR]

I have no idea what I'm doing with flow.
Dialing in lighting with a PAR meter based on common suggestions is something I can follow.
Flow? Light to moderate, moderate to strong,,, what?

Sometimes I feel like I should get another power head.
Sometimes I fell like I should turn mine down.
...of course, randomly changing stuff and seeing what happens is the best way to go about this -- DOH!

 

[vetteguy53081]

I run a mixture of vortechs, mp10s + mp40s, nero 5s, and a couple of jebao across 3 tanks. I don't bother trying to calculate turn over rate etc.
I tried gyres once but they were too noisy for me. No matter how I placed them they always got a bubble and had to be burped to quite them down.

I run the same and agree - My Gyre sounds like a cat in heat

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have no idea what I'm doing with flow.
Dialing in lighting with a PAR meter based on common suggestions is something I can follow.
Flow? Light to moderate, moderate to strong,,, what?

Sometimes I feel like I should get another power head.
Sometimes I fell like I should turn mine down.
...of course, randomly changing stuff and seeing what happens is the best way to go about this -- DOH!

Thats why this was brought up. There is uncertainty amongst many tank owners and then we hear turnover rate and it raises question as to what is proper flow

 

[Mav88]

I run 2 icecap 2k gyres in a 4 ft tank facing each other. Finally got the loud whine out of them by switch the impellers around. now they run only in reverse but I’m at 75% power with no noise and can go higher. If it breaks them then o well that noise was upsetting. I think my flow is fine. But who knows…

 

[nuxx]

Thought I was cool and tried to recreate the turbulent reef surge zones since I had an Achilles and Achilles Tang Hybrid... so as much as I could get away with without creating a sand storm.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I run 2 icecap 2k gyres in a 4 ft tank facing each other. Finally got the loud whine out of them by switch the impellers around. now they run only in reverse but I’m at 75% power with no noise and can go higher. If it breaks them then o well that noise was upsetting. I think my flow is fine. But who knows…

Thats what I have and talk about an annoying whine

 

[UtahReefer]

I have used many pumps over the years, mostly Vortech's. They are great pumps, but the trick is to not blast the corals directly. This can be a challenge depending upon your aquascape. In recent years I've become convinced that the gyre flow seems to work better for a reef tank. You can up the flow without directly blasting the corals. I've heard a lot of folks complain about gyre noise, but the newer Maxspect Gyre's run incredibly quiet.

 

[carri10]

Interesting thread, with a lot of options out there. I'm in the process of setting up a 1.6mx1mx70cm deep tank and was seriously thinking about going with a wavebox to set up overall water movement in the tank and then wavemakers to get some randomised and turbulent flow. Coral Euphoria youtube channel uses a wavebox - and he seems to know what he is doing, but I hear very little about them on this forum.