Define flow rate

[scbasser5]

Yes, I know what flow rate is but what is considered light, med or heavy? Like most folks I know about the 10x per hour turn over rate through the filtration or sump, but what about just water movement in the tank itself?

[crumbletop]

I thought it was 3-5 x display volume through sump, and 10 - 20 x display volume for flow. I think it depends on what you want to keep.

Jack

[kevensquint]

In my new 125 SPS it is 50x turnover.

[xtrstangx]

For SPS you probably want 50x turnover or even more.

Softies/LPS are fine with 10-40x turnover.

[crumbletop]

If I recall correctly, if you look at all the tanks in the ultimate marine aquariums book by Michael S. Paletta, which has tons of amazing aquarium setups, the average was 17x with a range of 4-65x. Is the 40-50x standard "rule of thumb" now for SPS? I've seen or read about many nice SPS tanks with flows in the 10-20x range...

Jack

[jdm01]

I am creating a 90g with mostly LPS and some softies and polyps. My turnover is a little over 30 x volume. I am at 3,000gph including powerheads and the return from the sump. I used the broad distribution Seio 1,100's. Seems to be working very well.

[coker98]

i have about 27X turnover in my tank and everything does good

[xtrstangx]

Is the 40-50x standard "rule of thumb" now for SPS? I've seen or read about many nice SPS tanks with flows in the 10-20x range...

If you go to the SPS forum and ask what everyone is running their turnover rate is, you'll get anywhere from 40x to 110x. I would say 40x is the minimum.

You want good flow everywhere with no dead spots, but you don't want huge heavy streams of water pointing directly at corals.

If you show me a picture of a (nice) SPS tank that has 10x turnover, I think you'd save a LOT of people a lot of money on Tunzes and huge pressure rated pumps.

[Amphiprion]

Turnover and flow rate are two different definitions. Turnover is just that--the sytem volume moved by all the pumps per unit time. Flow rate in terms of being beneficial to corals, etc. is defined as the volume of water moved per unit distance per unit time. Basically, it is the mass movement of water--fairly big difference.

[crumbletop]

I'd say at least 1/2 the tanks in the "ultimate marine aquariums" book run between 10 and 20x. Back of the napkin calculation on the last couple of TOTMs that were heavy on the SPS:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/totm/index.php
300 gal tank
6500 gal/hr flow
22x

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/totm/index.php
1532 gal tank
16877 gal/hr flow
11x

Jack

[crumbletop]

Sorry, I missed some flow from the tank in the second link. It looks like about 17x (25,584 gph).

[mcegelsk]

Does anyone remember a thread about really low sump turnover rate? It was sometime Jan/Feb timeframe I last saw this thread. This was to maximize skimmer performance. Then they would use powerheads or closed loop to boost the actual flow rate in the display. I'd really like to take a look at it again. Thanks. ~Matt

[crumbletop]

mcegelsk, since I was surprised by the 40+ x turnover posts, I went back and re-read some of the "ultimate marine aquariums." One of the tanks described is called "Trendsetting Reef" and is amazing. The description contains this text:

"Only a small sump was employed, and water from the display tank passed through the sump rather slowly -- approximately once per hour. This also resulted in a slow rate of feeding water to the skimmer, which repeatedly recirculated water from the sump and may have helped in keeping nutrients and dissolved organics low. A large fish load was not kept in the tank, and thre was virtually no algae growth, with the exception of some calcareous algae that appeared on the intake to the skimmer box. These conditions -- low nutrients and the absence of nuisance algae -- have proved to be critical for success with SPS corals."


The tank described was 300 gallons with a 33 gallon sump, so the flow through the sump was about 300 gph.

I'd like to take a look at that thread too...

Jack

[Randall_James]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7319361#post7319361 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mcegelsk
Does anyone remember a thread about really low sump turnover rate? It was sometime Jan/Feb timeframe I last saw this thread. This was to maximize skimmer performance. Then they would use powerheads or closed loop to boost the actual flow rate in the display. I'd really like to take a look at it again. Thanks. ~Matt That was in Anthony Calfos forum (that seems to have been removed ::eek1:
He does have some related threads at Reef Frontiers

That rate was said to be 3X to 5X

I agree with xtrstangx on the flow rates, I keep my 75G SPS tank at 3500GPH

[scbasser5]

This looks like most things in reefkeeping, everyone has their own ideas. Keep the water clean, with proper parameters and moving around is all that is required, just how you do that and by what means appears to be very much personal preference or trial and error.

Thanks for all the info, this why I like Reef Central you can get a lot of ideas and suggestions.

[Randall_James]

You are right, there are a number of systems that in fact work just fine. Mixing them however can have some pretty dire consequences.

It is just like the water change issue. There are claims by some keepers that say they "Never" change water and others do massive water changes on a regular schedule and both claim it works just fine. I think you would find that there is much more to the equation however such as skimming, carbon, additives etc that contribute to either outcome.

I think that is what makes this such an interesting hobby as well, you can explore a bit into techniques and find what works for your particular combination of fish and corals. That would lead me to the belief that many times there is not an exact answer to a problem or situation. But the debates are wonderful for the learning process

[scbasser5]

Yep, not many places that people with a common interest can get together this easy and exchanges ideas.