How much flow is too much flow?

Fishward · #1 10-20-2009, 04:57 AM

Hey,
I am fairly new to marine tanks and i just set up a 30g hex tank. im curious what sort of flow is considered substantial and what amount is considered low? I currently dont have any powerheads, but my return pump from my sump is rated for about 1000l/h (200G/h) at the height difference ive got going now. is that enough circulation for a 30 gallon tank? should i get a powerhead to supplement if i want to keep corals?

Richer · #2 10-20-2009, 06:35 AM

What do you plan on keeping? What you decide to keep could help you decide on how much turnover you'd want in your tank.

I've got a 15g right now... (35"x12"x8") and I've got about 50gph coming from the return pump, 240gph from a Koralia nano, and 400gph from a Koralia 1... so total of about 690gph or 46x turnover. I plan on eventually keeping some LPS and a BTA. Currently housing a couple of gobies and a tailspot blenny. Seems like a lot of flow, but the powerheads are quite gentle, so it works for me.

mark · #3 10-20-2009, 12:31 PM

definitely some extremes but this thread gives an idea what others have

Snaz · #4 10-20-2009, 01:07 PM

Flow is species dependent. On one end you have sea horses and pipefish and the other end SPS. For my mostly LPS 12 gallon nano I have a Maxijet 1200 return pump and a Koralia 1. Every tank will have high and low flow areas so place your animals accordingly.

Yes you should probably have at least one powerhead.

Fishward · #5 10-20-2009, 05:02 PM

Thanks guys,
Seems im on the low side for this tank.. I do want to keep corals so i'd better go about getting a powerhead i guess.

kodadad · #6 03-24-2010, 01:32 PM

I have a 33 gallon and I am running 2 koralia 2's, a maxijet 1200 on my skimmer and Aquaclear 50

Works out to around 60x flow

A lot but no one seems unhappy...