Setting up a 55 for softies

[zachofalltrades]

I've wanted to go reef ever since I started in this hobby, but I wanted to do FOWLR for a while to get the hang of things and run a successful system that way before I moved on to reef. Well I'm definately getting there, and need to do something with my lights before I buy any corals, but I'm about positive that a softy tank sounds like it's up my alley.

My question for now is about flow. I know most people on here are going to recommend 20x-25x turn over rates... but I'm already there and it doesn't seem right. My return pump is a 780gph pump that right now is doing about 300 or so to the display via a redirect back into the sump. For powerheads at the moment I have 2 Koralia 1's running (400gph each if kept clean). I have a Maxijet 600 w/ sureflow mod, but I've been only turning it on every once in a while to stir things up, as the flow is too high. When I first set the tank up I had two of those in there and my sandbed looked like the barringer crater. So in summary I have 2x400 + 300 = 1100 / 50 (very hopeful estimation of water volume in a 55) which is 22x... but everything seems a little stagnant. I'm thinking about being more creative with returns and just turning the diversion more towards the display. If turned all the way up then I could get 28x I believe, but having the diversion back into the sump gives me an awesome place to make my own carbon canister to plug in.

Any input?

[plateboy3293]

Right now on my 120 gallon I have a 700 gph return pump, 1 koralia 1,2, and 4. I point the return pump to the side of the aquarium and shoot it to the other side with the #2, then to the #4 on the opposite side of the tank. Then the #1 on the same side as the 2 shoots the water to the overflow. It doesn't leave any dead spots which most people try to do which keeps my nitrates at zero. Maybe you could try a similar setup for circulation.

[zachofalltrades]

Do you have a pic of that? I'm having a hard time picturing it.

[lancer99]

Zach,

I think you are getting a little too much concerned about total flow. IME, total flow is less important for softies than random flow. My 75G did great for a long time with 2 x 400 gph powerheads positioned on the back at an angle on a wavemaker.

I've recently added a modded MJ1200 to add a bit of circular flow, which my corals seem to like.

-R

[zachofalltrades]

Thanks Lancer, I've just been trying to make since of it because I have dead spots in the tank but have as much flow as I'm "supposed" to have with two tiny powerheads.

[havingfunin08]

All I have in one of my tanks for the last 2 years is softies and I have low to medium flow and they do much better with lower flow..