Wave Maker Flow Rate Suggestions

[Trenton Henderson]

I have 2 EcoTech MP40’s on my 4 foot 60 gallon tank. It’s a Marineland long and tall 60 gallon that I drilled. I’m I have been running both on Reef Crest during the day at 30-35% (it does a NTM in the evening at 40% and a lagoon mode at the same speed as Reef Crest in the late ours). The tank is gearing up to be a mixed reef, and only has a candy cane frag and a Zia frag towards the bottom of the tank. This speed has a maximum flow of about 2400 gph per pump, but it averages in the 1300 gph zone (I’m guessing). This would be about 43x turnover per hour in the display (for both pumps). Would you say I could drop this for a mixed Reef? My candy came is happy, but it’s in a nook that has slower flow, but my zoas have recently been not opening all the way.

What are your recommendations on turnover? The high flow demand corals will be in a fairly direct flow path of the pumps. I can always add other flow solutions as the corals grow.

 

[blaxsun]

I have a flow rate between 10-15x (maximum) in my 160-gallon mixed reef.

 

[Trenton Henderson]

I have a flow rate between 10-15x (maximum) in my 160-gallon mixed reef.

Is that for all pumps or per pump?

 

[blaxsun]

Is that for all pumps or per pump?

All wavemakers total (not including the return pump flow).

 

[Trenton Henderson]

All wavemakers total (not including the return pump flow).

Cool. I’ll turn them back. I probably could have gone with MP10’s, but I wasn’t sure about their reach when the aquascape was introduced. These MP40’s should allow me to use them on an upgrade in the future though!

 

[blaxsun]

Cool. I’ll turn them back. I probably could have gone with MP10’s, but I wasn’t sure about their reach when the aquascape was introduced. These MP40’s should allow me to use them on an upgrade in the future though!

From what everyone who owns MP10s tells me - they wish they'd gone with MP40s instead, so I think you made the right choice.