Neptune Aquatics

Share Your Flow Secrets

MolaMola

Supporting Member
While hopefully coming out of dealing with various tank challenges, I am taking the opportunity to change some of the basic setup. I think I need to increase or at least redirect the flow in all of my tanks, since I seem to have dead spots and junk that easily builds up on my sandbed - detritus, cyano, plating sand, everything.
What are tips or resources people looking into this topic can check out for how to get some good, nonlinear current going? I have 3 tank shapes that I think require different circulation: regular box (4'x 2' x 21"), bookshelf/landscape (3' x 1' x 1'), cube (20"). I am having trouble figuring out how to get the flow bouncing off the walls AND moving vertically I wish I could drop in some colored dust and see where it goes, like the first time I poured Alk solution in front of a powerhead.
Also, I recently got to see a member's tank (@Bruce Spiegelman ) that had a swell in part of the tank that I really loved. Totally looked like the ocean.
What do people like/dislike about their flow?
 
Or just put a whole handful of food (pellets) in. :) jk

I started with a pump on either side with a mirror program running. That worked decent but what was even better was when I put both pumps on one side a few inches from the top to create a gyre. I was able to run them with identical programming and because they were close to the top I could bump up the power and not worry about the sand getting kicked up. This also allowed for a good amount of surface agitation. Plus the acros on top like a lot of flow.
 
I spent hours making my flow perfect so that the anemones get this amount, zoas get this, other patch of zoas get that, torches get this, sps get high flow etc. I mostly used bubbles to see where the flow was going (put bubbles beneath powerheads so air woudl get sucked in)
However, I had mostly converted my tank from sps to zoas/lps, so I had to model the flow around the tank. if possible, it is a lot less work to set up the flow and put corals based on where the flow is (lps in low flow, sps in high, etc)
 
I’m running out of time to have the tank running but I had in mind going like the Cal Academy, core some rocks, put PVC pipe in there, four outlets and do a closed loop without drilling the tank, just using one of the drains to feed the pump. I guess by reading some of the forums, a Gyre is a simple solution. If you don’t like seeing many pumps in or outside the tank, perhaps using some behind rockwork to solve dead or very slow flow pockets
 
Two powerheads on each end, right near the surface, pointing almost, but not quite, at each other.
Always on.
I get a ton of very strong linear surface flow of course, but that is above everything.
Below, in the tank, it ends up being two gyres, one on each end, but a lot of extra
random motion as the collisions change.
 
I used to spend a lot of time moving around rocks and Vortechs. Sometimes adding another Vortech, playing with different modes, etc. Then I just got a Gyre and don't do any of that anymore. No need.
 
Similar to Mark. Two gyres pointing at each other, always on, and crashing against each other. Return pump is COR-20 running it's own program and creating more random flow via RFG nozzles.
 
Okay, I positioned my Tunzes toward each other and I think that has made a huge improvement against dead spots along with adding a powerhead to blast behind the rockwork. I suddenly have an opportunity to stretch some grant money and I think I'd like to try a gyre. I just looked and am out of date in my knowledge of gyre models and lacking research time. Looks like Ice Cap 3k, XF230, XF250. Also thought I didn't need the controller since I use an Apex and am not crazy about tweaking equipment, but I guess you need it to power it at all. Tank is 105g, 48" long. Suggestion? I will try to read up more late tonight.
 
Okay, I positioned my Tunzes toward each other and I think that has made a huge improvement against dead spots along with adding a powerhead to blast behind the rockwork. I suddenly have an opportunity to stretch some grant money and I think I'd like to try a gyre. I just looked and am out of date in my knowledge of gyre models and lacking research time. Looks like Ice Cap 3k, XF230, XF250. Also thought I didn't need the controller since I use an Apex and am not crazy about tweaking equipment, but I guess you need it to power it at all. Tank is 105g, 48" long. Suggestion? I will try to read up more late tonight.
Test the gyre flow concept first.
Put both tunzes on one side, pointing the same way, across the water at the top.
You should get a strong gyre going pretty easily.
Make sure you like that flow pattern. It is pretty different. Pros/Cons.
 
Okay, I positioned my Tunzes toward each other and I think that has made a huge improvement against dead spots along with adding a powerhead to blast behind the rockwork. I suddenly have an opportunity to stretch some grant money and I think I'd like to try a gyre. I just looked and am out of date in my knowledge of gyre models and lacking research time. Looks like Ice Cap 3k, XF230, XF250. Also thought I didn't need the controller since I use an Apex and am not crazy about tweaking equipment, but I guess you need it to power it at all. Tank is 105g, 48" long. Suggestion? I will try to read up more late tonight.

I think I have one I can donate. Just need to find it after Macna for you.
 
I had a 48"x21"x21" with 5 pumps in it to kill all deadspots (also was barebottom). My flow was insane, and probably a bit overboard. I had salt creep everywhere. Pumps behind the rocks, shooting through the rocks, etc.

I wish I had a gyre. My new tank, though much smaller, just has a small gyre, and there's no buildup, and very very minimal, if anything, in the back behind the rockwork (easily siphoned out with water changes).
 
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