Too much flow, in 40 acrylic.

So i still think I have too much flow in my tank. I have the Hydor Powerhead 750gph, Aqueon Powerhead 125gph, and Corallife Super Skimmer 65g rated. It seems as though everything is just moving too much. The Hydor is on the left end of the tank pointing at the right end (so it is pushing all the water to the other side of the tank). The aqueon is pointed at the hydor to add some chaotic flow however im considering taking out the aqueon 125 to lessen the amount of water being pushed around. What do you think?

 

in terms of flow by volume
even with both power heads on - you only have 21 x tank volume in total flow

which is not to much even in a tank with soft corals

how do your corals behave ?
do they seem to be battered constantly sideways or do they flutter from side to side ?

is your sand bed shifting , leaving visible clear areas of acrylic?

get an image up Anthos so we can look at the corals

it may be a case of to much flow coming 1 way
and with a better matched pair of powerheads, you could in fact increase the flow
but reduce any issue

Steve

 

thats only 21x flow including the output of the skimmer?

Corals are honestly closed upa bit/swaying too much, primarily because i feel that my hydor is too much flow in one direction.

No sand is moving around at all.

I am not trying to purchase anything/another powerhead so i have to figure out something in the mean time. In the process of taking pics/video.

 

I dont count the skimmer in my calculations Anthos
so yes the 21 x was just the combination of the Hydor and the Aqueon
750 +125 = 875 divided by 40 = 21.87 - OK 22 times would have been more accurate

pictures would be cool
is the Hydor pointed upwards slightly so that some of its power is absorbed at the surface or is it pointed in a straight line at the other tank wall

sometimes messing with the positioning of the wavemakers can make a difference to the flow distribution

if you moved it to the back corner and pointed it slightly upwards and towards the front corner on the opposite end of the tank and had the Aqueon towards the back on the other end and aimed at a point roughly at the centre of the front of the tank
there would still be some chaotic flow in the middle of the tank
but generally calmer areas either side of the middle

Steve

 

pics attached

 

heres a few more showing the system

 

sorry Anthos

Im not seeing the issue you described
the shrooms look expanded
the corals seem to be spread in general and not being forced in 1 direction

the 2 xenia colonies show the above, if flow was to much they would be bent over fluttering in the opposite direction the flow was coming from

maybe I am missing it
but it looks fine to me

Steve

 

sorry i forgot to mention, all these pics is with the aqueon 125gph powerhead turned off. Solely the outflow of the skimmer and the 1 hydor powerhead 750gph.

 

im considering leaving the aqueon off for a while and seeing how things do. Since i have no sps, am i not too worried about having anywhere near 35-40x flow rate.

 

I have a 750 and a 425 Koralia in my 40 and it's not too much flow. The problem could be the Aqeuon if it has a jet like flow. I had a Maxi-jet before the Koralia and the jet like flow from it was too much.