Water flow

[Mpolizzano]

65 gallon tank. 36Lx18Dx24H. I have 2 Rio 1700 return pumps (641 GPH at 0'-1'). One pump is 641 and the other 532. One return is in the lower left (641) of the DT and the other return is upper right (532) of the DT. So 1173 GPH. All I have is 35 lbs of live rock, 15 lbs of base rock and 3 inches of live sand. My question would be is this enough flow for a reef tank? Or do I need to add a powerhead? If so what brand and GPH? Thanks in advance.

 

[carey]

I would add 2 koralia 750's for flow. About $35 each or so. It will greatly improve tank conditions as a reef needs lots of flow as does your live rock.

 

[Mpolizzano]

So besides the 2 return pumps you think I still need 2 powerheads? Korilia 750's? One on each side?

 

[carey]

Yep. I always suggest 2 powerheads so you can get a nice chaotic flow. You want no dead spots on your sandbed where debris can build up.

For instance I'm running 2 1400's in my 125g as well as the approx. 1200gph from the return, and I'm debating adding 2 more powerheads. I was running 2 750 koralias in my 29g tank and they did a great job.

 

[TLTGF]

I agree, the rule of thumb for a reef is 30-50x turnover per hour.

65*30-50= 1950-3250gph.

Therefore your (1173) plus (1500) from Koralia's would be approximatley (2673)gph or about 41x turnover per hour.

 

[carey]

Didn't realize there was a formula for that! LOL I ususally just go with what feels right. Didn't know I'd be that close to the actual formula result. HAHA very cool.

 

[Mpolizzano]

Thank you. You've been a great help. Next question. Lol. Can my tank cycle without doing the shrimp or fish approach? Put 35 lbs of live rock and 15 lbs of base rock in on November 20th. Using saltwater straight from the source. No mixing. Tested water on November 25th. PH - 7.9 Ammonia - 0 Nitrite - 0 Nitrate - 10 Gravity - 1.029. Let me know.

 

[TLTGF]

You can dose pure ammonia in order to start the cycle. Ace Hardware brand is the pure stuff. You need something for the bacteria to live on which is why it is important to have some ammo source. You should be able to dose ammo to 2ppm and 24 hours later it is at 0ppm. If that is the case, then you should have enough BB at that point.

If by "straight from the source" means from the ocean, I hope it came from far out at sea, like a mile, otherwise you are gambling with pollution and other yuck. Also your SG is on the quite high side. For a reef you wanna see 1.026 and for a FOWLR more like 1.023.

 

[Mpolizzano]

Yes the water is from pretty far out. A lot more than a mile. So do I have to dose it with pure ammonia? I have been dosing with microbe-lift special blend. Will this help?

 

[Mpolizzano]

So I now have 1173 GPH from my return pumps and 2 koralia 750's. So my total is 2673 GPH in my 65 gallon tank. I hope that is adequate. I have roughly 1400 GPH in back top corners pointing to front tank surface and roughly 1273 GPH in back bottom corners pointing towards middle front of tank. Hopefully this will help my PH which is 7.8-7.9. Sound good?

 

[carey]

Sounds like a plan to me. Good luck!