Enough water movement?

carolgyrl1 · 12/15/2011, 05:47 PM

I have had my tank set up since March. My tank is 72"w x 30" tall x 24" deep.On one end I have a 40 vortec, and the other end i have a 650 powerhead. In the middle of my tank I got hair algae starting up. I had this happen in Sept when I was going on vacation and had a food timer( dispensed too much) so used a sea hare for a while and took care of the problem.I gave him away.I though I would be ok, but now that it is starting up again, I m thinking I need another powerhead. I have a gfo reactor, which I changed out the gfo after 3 months. when I saw the phosphate was at .005.My actinics run from 6 am till 8 pm, the white led's run from 6 :30 am till 2:00.I try not to overfeed, I am using spectrum pellets, and frozen brine( rinsed)
The hair algae is only in the middle, where there is a grouping of rocks in the middle sticking out.It is impossible to reach down and manually remove the hair at that depth.For a tank that long, how many powerheads would be recommended?

thegrun · 12/15/2011, 08:02 PM

You should have a minimum of 4,500 GPH of flow in the tank, closer to 9,000 GPH if you plan on keeping SPS corals. You don't indicate how much flow you have running through your closed loop or your sump and where their returns are located, so it is difficult to say if you have enough flow or not. The growth in the middle of the tank seems to indicate that low flow could be a problem there, but your lighting could also be more to the algae liking at that location.

Dustin1300 · 12/15/2011, 08:56 PM

Flow is not the issue with the GHA. If phosphate is at .005 and algae is consuming a lot then you may have major phosphate issue (Rock or Source Water).

I'd decrease lighting schedule, manually remove as much GHA as possible, and put fresh GFO in!

greech · 12/15/2011, 09:04 PM

I agree that nutrients from the overfeeding may still be part of the problem but lack of flow to suspend detritus (nutrients) into the water column where it can be filtered/skimmed out will contribute to problems as well.

Depending on what you have in the tank livestock wise I would suggest more flow.

12/15/2011, 05:47 PM	#1
carolgyrl1 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: palm springs, ca Posts: 230	Enough water movement? I have had my tank set up since March. My tank is 72"w x 30" tall x 24" deep.On one end I have a 40 vortec, and the other end i have a 650 powerhead. In the middle of my tank I got hair algae starting up. I had this happen in Sept when I was going on vacation and had a food timer( dispensed too much) so used a sea hare for a while and took care of the problem.I gave him away.I though I would be ok, but now that it is starting up again, I m thinking I need another powerhead. I have a gfo reactor, which I changed out the gfo after 3 months. when I saw the phosphate was at .005.My actinics run from 6 am till 8 pm, the white led's run from 6 :30 am till 2:00.I try not to overfeed, I am using spectrum pellets, and frozen brine( rinsed) The hair algae is only in the middle, where there is a grouping of rocks in the middle sticking out.It is impossible to reach down and manually remove the hair at that depth.For a tank that long, how many powerheads would be recommended? __________________ 240 display tank.72x30x24,125 lb live rock, yellow tang, hippo tang, royal gamma basslet,6 chromis, 6 line, hoevens wrasse, green mandarin, catalina goby, purple firefish, 2 oscellaris, 3 resplendant anthias,emerald crabs, hermits, 2 red banded cleaner shrimp,red starfish, anemone, colt coral, leathers, frogspawn, torch, mushrooms,35 gallon sump, mp40 vortec , maxijet, phosban reactor, 1/2 hp chiller, led lighting, moonlights, closed loop, water leak, temp, and power detector, secure view camera so I can see my fishies anytime! Current Tank Info: 240 gallon fish and reef

12/15/2011, 08:56 PM	#3
Dustin1300 Reefaholic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Carmel, IN Posts: 5,135	Flow is not the issue with the GHA. If phosphate is at .005 and algae is consuming a lot then you may have major phosphate issue (Rock or Source Water). I'd decrease lighting schedule, manually remove as much GHA as possible, and put fresh GFO in! __________________ INDMAS President Check out my tank in the Large Tank Forums, "A Reefaholic's 1000+ Gallon Mixed Reef System Build"! Current Tank Info: 600 Gallon DT, 140 Gallon Grow Out Tank, 125 Gallon Sump, 90 Gallon Fuge, 200 Gallon Fish QT, 15 Gallon Frag QT

12/15/2011, 09:04 PM	#4
greech Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 3,133	I agree that nutrients from the overfeeding may still be part of the problem but lack of flow to suspend detritus (nutrients) into the water column where it can be filtered/skimmed out will contribute to problems as well. Depending on what you have in the tank livestock wise I would suggest more flow. __________________ ~Graham Current Tank Info: Tank: 40 breeder; 20H sump w/SWC 120; Sicce 3.0 return; Vortech MP-10; Sundial T5, DIY Actinic LED (3W Cree). Livestock: Pair of Black & Whites; Midas Blenny; Firefish; Yasha/pistol; Black Leopard Wrasse; LPS and SPS

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12/15/2011, 08:02 PM	#2
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	You should have a minimum of 4,500 GPH of flow in the tank, closer to 9,000 GPH if you plan on keeping SPS corals. You don't indicate how much flow you have running through your closed loop or your sump and where their returns are located, so it is difficult to say if you have enough flow or not. The growth in the middle of the tank seems to indicate that low flow could be a problem there, but your lighting could also be more to the algae liking at that location.