Flow Rates-Coral Requirements

smilesatyoualot · 08/24/2006, 10:14 PM

Low-Med-High flow rates.....equals what as gph. I have a 75 gal with fish only for the last 5m. Just upgraded lighting system to T5 w/icecap ballast 660 and reflectors. Just checking to make sure that I have enough flow rate before I start to purchase.

Thanks for your help!
Debbie

Billybeau1 · 08/24/2006, 11:00 PM

Are you planning on staying FO for awhile ? What flow rate do you have now ? What size pump ?

I have a 72 gal and I'm using a Quiet One 4000 with about 6 ft head loss.

outy · 08/25/2006, 01:32 AM

for coral 10x tank volume [minumum lps]

30x plus [minimum sps]

FO it doesnt matter

in my 100g i have roughly 3000 gph for lps [this forum is crazy about flow

]

DrBDC · 08/25/2006, 05:46 AM

Wrong forum for this really. It should be under "lighting, filtration, other equipment" or "reef discussion".

That is a very opinionated subject. If you are talking about display tank total turnover or return pump gph. The main return pump gph doesn't need to be much more than what the skimmer will process and maybe just a little extra depending on whether you divert some of the flow to a refuge or not. Inside the fuge, you should have about a 15X flow. i.e. if the fuge holds 10 gallons then send about 150-200gph through that and if the skimmer processes 300 gph per hour then send about 350 gph through that area.

Then on the main display. For ease of numbers pretend it's 100 gallons. Then you need to decide what type of flow you are using. i.e. small output style powerheads like maxijets or larger flow distribution outputs like seio, vortech, tunze's, closed loops with multiple outlets like a calfo style manifold. With a larger flow output like the later, 30X softy, 50X mixed and up to 100X + sps. With smaller output powerheads you will be limited on those numbers by quite a bit unless you can find creative ways to bounce/distribute the flow and those numbers would have to be reduced considerably.

As an example I still have a mixed tank that has some anthelia, xenia, and 1 leather still in the tank and I run 2 1500 seio's along with the 600 gph return pump on approximately a 68 gallon display. Which is about 52.9X turnover. If it were too much that xenia and definitely the anthelia would have some issues. On a natural reef the water is moving at some unreal high number that we could never even attempt to recreate in a tank. That number I don't recall but it was over 100,000 gph equivalent per 3 ft section of reef. If you even try that your ceilings will be soaked and you'll blow the water out of the tank in seconds.

Sorry multiple tunze guys, I know you're trying but it can't be completely recreated!

smilesatyoualot · 08/25/2006, 06:34 PM

Sorry for the wrong forum!

Lots of great info...wow, more flow than I thought. I will need to increase flow. Thanks

08/24/2006, 10:14 PM	#1
smilesatyoualot Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Plainfield, IL Posts: 15	Flow Rates-Coral Requirements Low-Med-High flow rates.....equals what as gph. I have a 75 gal with fish only for the last 5m. Just upgraded lighting system to T5 w/icecap ballast 660 and reflectors. Just checking to make sure that I have enough flow rate before I start to purchase. Thanks for your help! Debbie

08/25/2006, 05:46 AM	#4
DrBDC Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ballwin, Missouri Posts: 10,358	Wrong forum for this really. It should be under "lighting, filtration, other equipment" or "reef discussion". That is a very opinionated subject. If you are talking about display tank total turnover or return pump gph. The main return pump gph doesn't need to be much more than what the skimmer will process and maybe just a little extra depending on whether you divert some of the flow to a refuge or not. Inside the fuge, you should have about a 15X flow. i.e. if the fuge holds 10 gallons then send about 150-200gph through that and if the skimmer processes 300 gph per hour then send about 350 gph through that area. Then on the main display. For ease of numbers pretend it's 100 gallons. Then you need to decide what type of flow you are using. i.e. small output style powerheads like maxijets or larger flow distribution outputs like seio, vortech, tunze's, closed loops with multiple outlets like a calfo style manifold. With a larger flow output like the later, 30X softy, 50X mixed and up to 100X + sps. With smaller output powerheads you will be limited on those numbers by quite a bit unless you can find creative ways to bounce/distribute the flow and those numbers would have to be reduced considerably. As an example I still have a mixed tank that has some anthelia, xenia, and 1 leather still in the tank and I run 2 1500 seio's along with the 600 gph return pump on approximately a 68 gallon display. Which is about 52.9X turnover. If it were too much that xenia and definitely the anthelia would have some issues. On a natural reef the water is moving at some unreal high number that we could never even attempt to recreate in a tank. That number I don't recall but it was over 100,000 gph equivalent per 3 ft section of reef. If you even try that your ceilings will be soaked and you'll blow the water out of the tank in seconds. Sorry multiple tunze guys, I know you're trying but it can't be completely recreated! __________________ Some drink at the fountain of knowledge, some just gargle, but most are rabid. Current Tank Info: 180g sps+75 softy/lps on one system tunze's, seio's, mjmods, aquacontroller w/add ons, 2X400 XM10000 and 3X160 vho actinic, 110g sump, 110 frag tank, Geo Beckett and other stuff

08/24/2006, 11:00 PM	#2
Billybeau1 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Dyer, Indiana Posts: 12,010	Are you planning on staying FO for awhile ? What flow rate do you have now ? What size pump ? I have a 72 gal and I'm using a Quiet One 4000 with about 6 ft head loss.

08/25/2006, 01:32 AM	#3
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	for coral 10x tank volume [minumum lps] 30x plus [minimum sps] FO it doesnt matter in my 100g i have roughly 3000 gph for lps [this forum is crazy about flow ]

08/25/2006, 06:34 PM	#5
smilesatyoualot Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Plainfield, IL Posts: 15	Sorry for the wrong forum! Lots of great info...wow, more flow than I thought. I will need to increase flow. Thanks