Ok, so it seems we've "hijacked" blange3's tank thread with water flow discussions, so I figured I'd start this thread up here and try to move that conversation here.
My understanding of it was this:
1: Coral growth on the reef creates its own disruption of the flow, or turbulence.
2: Moving the powerheads to one side and placing them to flow linear across the top creates a return across the bottom as the pumps energy builds, creating an eliptical "gyre" effect, or "conveyer belt" motion.
3: This movement will disrrupt more detritus
4: Creating a perfect environment is difficult because we have placed obstacles in the "energy path" of the current, where in nature, those obstacles would have grown out where they needed to on their own
5: At least 2/3 the length of the tank should be reached with the power of the powerhead.
6: "storming" the tank (hitting the rocks, sand surface, glass, etc with a powerhead) occassionally will help dislodge pockets of detritus that have formed in deadspots we create with our aquascaping.
7: We can still achieve "turbulent" flow with this method, as opposed to the previously preached "chaotic" flow. Placing powerheads facing each other or pointing at glass only disrrupts their energy before they can appropriately do what they need to to create flow in our aquariums
My tank:
90 Gallon AGA with corner overflow, 20 gallon home made sump.
Coralife superskimmer CS125
Occassional use of GAC in a TLF media reactor
Reef Crystals Salt Mix
RO/DI water for both salt mix and top off
Monthly 20% water changes
About 130-140 pounds of live rock
The sump mainly just contains equipment, but there is a center champer that holds rock rubble on a small sand mound, it is unlighted. this is mainly to break up the flow of the water and to hopefully generate pod propagation.
The DT has a shallow sandbed.
I do not dose anything.
No other means of filtration is used.
I am experimenting with LED light tubes on this tank.
Flow is created by a Quiet one 2000 return pump, a koralia 4 and koralia 3.
Livestock is a blue spot nasso tang, a pair of tomato clowns (about 4 years old now) 3 small yellow tail blue damsels, and an orchid dotty back.
Coral is some anthalia, zoas, palys, a scoly, and a toadstool leather
The tanks has been running like this for just under a year.
Now, that being said, I listened intently to what Jake had to say, and was intriqued by his workshop and demonstrations.
So, having a new bloom of cyano on the sand bed, and hair algae, as well as "junk" on the glass, and a diatom issue on the live rocks (youd think this was a brand new tank!)
And having researched just about everything I could come up with, and NOT wanting to dose anything, or add more expensive equipment to the system, I decided to give this a try.
I moved both powerheads to the left side, facing the right side, close to the surface to agitate the surface as well. I saw that the powerheads were not quite strong enough to reach as far as I would like them to, so I took both return lines from the sump return and angled them facing the same directions and across the surface of the water to achieve agitation on the far end away from the powerheads, and also to not have the cutting off the energy of the powerheads by pointing across the stream.
My results?
I imemediately saw detritus coming from all over under and around the back corners of the rocks
Within 24 hours, the hair algae began to look "sick", and the cyano was beginning to retreat off the sand surface.
Several days later, I'm seeing similar results, but I think the powerheads have to be stronger then they are.
Additionally, and this may be coincidence, but the fish are much more active, and move around the entire tank now. Previously, they all kind of had their own "bubble" they stuck to (except the nasso tang, but hey, she likes to be pet on the head, so shes strange). Now, they are all over the tank, very front and center, and seem to be alot more active then before.
The leather is no longer kind of "leaning" to one side, it's much more "straight", and it sways back and forth and has exhibited more polyp extension then recently.
The remainder of the softies in the tank are doing well, if not better. Color is good, feeding habits when I feed the tank are similar if not improved, and they are all appearing just as healthy if not more so than before.
I am also cleaning the glass less often then I was before.
Next step will be to try to get more powerful powerheads in the tank, and I may try setting powerheads up on opposite ends of the tank, and turn them on alternating one side on, then the other side on, to try to stir things up a bit.
Any comments, or discussions? Go right ahead!
My understanding of it was this:
1: Coral growth on the reef creates its own disruption of the flow, or turbulence.
2: Moving the powerheads to one side and placing them to flow linear across the top creates a return across the bottom as the pumps energy builds, creating an eliptical "gyre" effect, or "conveyer belt" motion.
3: This movement will disrrupt more detritus
4: Creating a perfect environment is difficult because we have placed obstacles in the "energy path" of the current, where in nature, those obstacles would have grown out where they needed to on their own
5: At least 2/3 the length of the tank should be reached with the power of the powerhead.
6: "storming" the tank (hitting the rocks, sand surface, glass, etc with a powerhead) occassionally will help dislodge pockets of detritus that have formed in deadspots we create with our aquascaping.
7: We can still achieve "turbulent" flow with this method, as opposed to the previously preached "chaotic" flow. Placing powerheads facing each other or pointing at glass only disrrupts their energy before they can appropriately do what they need to to create flow in our aquariums
My tank:
90 Gallon AGA with corner overflow, 20 gallon home made sump.
Coralife superskimmer CS125
Occassional use of GAC in a TLF media reactor
Reef Crystals Salt Mix
RO/DI water for both salt mix and top off
Monthly 20% water changes
About 130-140 pounds of live rock
The sump mainly just contains equipment, but there is a center champer that holds rock rubble on a small sand mound, it is unlighted. this is mainly to break up the flow of the water and to hopefully generate pod propagation.
The DT has a shallow sandbed.
I do not dose anything.
No other means of filtration is used.
I am experimenting with LED light tubes on this tank.
Flow is created by a Quiet one 2000 return pump, a koralia 4 and koralia 3.
Livestock is a blue spot nasso tang, a pair of tomato clowns (about 4 years old now) 3 small yellow tail blue damsels, and an orchid dotty back.
Coral is some anthalia, zoas, palys, a scoly, and a toadstool leather
The tanks has been running like this for just under a year.
Now, that being said, I listened intently to what Jake had to say, and was intriqued by his workshop and demonstrations.
So, having a new bloom of cyano on the sand bed, and hair algae, as well as "junk" on the glass, and a diatom issue on the live rocks (youd think this was a brand new tank!)
And having researched just about everything I could come up with, and NOT wanting to dose anything, or add more expensive equipment to the system, I decided to give this a try.
I moved both powerheads to the left side, facing the right side, close to the surface to agitate the surface as well. I saw that the powerheads were not quite strong enough to reach as far as I would like them to, so I took both return lines from the sump return and angled them facing the same directions and across the surface of the water to achieve agitation on the far end away from the powerheads, and also to not have the cutting off the energy of the powerheads by pointing across the stream.
My results?
I imemediately saw detritus coming from all over under and around the back corners of the rocks
Within 24 hours, the hair algae began to look "sick", and the cyano was beginning to retreat off the sand surface.
Several days later, I'm seeing similar results, but I think the powerheads have to be stronger then they are.
Additionally, and this may be coincidence, but the fish are much more active, and move around the entire tank now. Previously, they all kind of had their own "bubble" they stuck to (except the nasso tang, but hey, she likes to be pet on the head, so shes strange). Now, they are all over the tank, very front and center, and seem to be alot more active then before.
The leather is no longer kind of "leaning" to one side, it's much more "straight", and it sways back and forth and has exhibited more polyp extension then recently.
The remainder of the softies in the tank are doing well, if not better. Color is good, feeding habits when I feed the tank are similar if not improved, and they are all appearing just as healthy if not more so than before.
I am also cleaning the glass less often then I was before.
Next step will be to try to get more powerful powerheads in the tank, and I may try setting powerheads up on opposite ends of the tank, and turn them on alternating one side on, then the other side on, to try to stir things up a bit.
Any comments, or discussions? Go right ahead!
