do you want the surface of the water always breaking? i can adjust my powerheads downwards so there isnt much movement along the actual surface, as if all the water is being pushed down. in my big tank however i have two powerheads and then four return pipes. the left side have the return pipes have one going behind the rock and the other towards the wall to send water behind the powerheads... on the other side i have one facing downwards behind the rocks and the other at the surface of the water.. its certainly causing the water to move more along the surface, actually looks better to me than before (And we definitely have good movement overall in the tank) i was just wondering what would be considered ideal?
how do you know what the ideal flow is...
- Thread starter ADEE
- Start date
The way I look at it is...there's no, to little, dead water in the ocean. There's at least some flow, everywhere...even in the little nooks and crannies.
When I've had systems up and going that didn't have sufficient return, from the sump, I've supplemented with as many powerheads as needed to get bottom, mid level and top flow. That, plus having consistant surface aggitation, which I think is definately needed, for a healthy tank.
Even times when there are caves, behind rocks, etc...I've always pointed various powerheads, to keep flow going.
When I've had systems up and going that didn't have sufficient return, from the sump, I've supplemented with as many powerheads as needed to get bottom, mid level and top flow. That, plus having consistant surface aggitation, which I think is definately needed, for a healthy tank.
Even times when there are caves, behind rocks, etc...I've always pointed various powerheads, to keep flow going.
You can gage is by dead spots but flow really depends on what you are keeping. Some things require more flow then others. I personally think you should have10X turnover but depending on who you talk to some say more others say less.
The more flow the better. As long as corals and other inverts are displaying normal behavior, (fully extending polyps ect) then you are good. Theres nothing worse than dead spots in a reef system. Some fish will also react negatively to too much flow, but generally speaking, the more flow the better.