New setup and water flow issues.

[ts99ad]

I have recently moved my tank and have had my new tank running for 3 months now. I have a 75g tank with a 30 g sump(20g of water). I have approx. 75 lbs of rock in the main tank. There are approx. 70 lbs of sand/crushed coral in the tanks combined. The rock and sand has been in an active tank for several years. At this time I have a cleanup crew and a few damsels for appearance until I actually figure out what to do.

I would like to start adding corals. But I want to ensure that I have most of what I need before I start. I am concerned about water flow. What do I need for circulation, how many power heads and where should they be located. The inflow is at the front top left of the tank and the overflow is in the back right. There are areas where water does not flow very well. Should I break the inflow into multiple flows? Or use powerheads to circulate the water.


Lighting – 36” LED Marineland Reef strip in use and a 48” and 24”(for the sump) on its way. 700 G/hr pump from sump to main.

Please feel free to give any advise. I have had a saltwater tank for years but never fully committed myself to doing it right. Now I am looking to do it right and keeping it in good condition.

Cheers,
TS

 

[little_fish]

Hello and Welcome!

How many powerheads you get depends on how much flow they put out, so you will need fewer powerheads if they push more water. I would aim for the total volume of your tank to be turned over around 30x per hour. Make sure at least one is pointed to towards the surface so you get good ripple to promote good gas exchange. I would add another powerhead to the area your overflows dont get to.

I would also pull out the damsels now before you start adding corals. Most people end up having to remove everything in the tank to get them out. They are well known for bullying other fish to death, even ones much larger. And while you have the rocks out I would try and pull out as much of the crushed coral as you can. That stuff just turns into a gigantic crap trap, leading to water quality issues which will hamper your reef.

Also while the marineland LEDs work for smaller tanks, you may end up being pretty limited with what you can keep with that light.

 

[Northstar24]

Hannah has you covered

We have seen some success with the Marineland LED's on smaller tanks, but I just don't see them sustaining much in a 18+ inch deep tank

 

[ts99ad]

Okay, thank you for the help. I guess I should remove the other Marineland LED's from my shopping cart. Although I have only had the 36" one in my tank since Christmas and I am getting decent coraline growth.

What about the water flow behind the rocks, do I need to worry that there is very little. Or should I change my inflow to shoot multiple jets downward and use powerheads to move the water across the front. I have lots of ripples in the surface, which is creating a great shimmer throguh out my house.

I am thinking I need to get another sump pump to create the increased flow, I am currently only at 10-12x. Or can this be established by circulating the water in the tank with powerheads?

 

[Old_Moe]

just FWIW, I have a 75g. I have two Hydor Koralia Evolutions 750gph powerheads and a Mag 9.5 with a double loc-line return head. ( think pump is rated at 950gph before losses ). If the pump is giving me anything above 750gph, then I am at least 30x. I think the positioning and the direction of your heads are equally as important as the overall turn-over rate.

 

[little_fish]

Powerheads are great for moving water, they are essentially a pump. I would try and get some flow behind the rocks. Where you dont have much flow you can get algae problems because stuff will settle out in that area providing a place for algae spores to land and food for them.