Water Flow in the Aquarium - Experiments and learnings from Jake Adams' workshop

[vangvace]

Me too! Once I spoke with Jake in detail...he told me that the only reason to use the MP20 would be if the glass was to thick, mine is not and the pump stays in place! It's all about placement, close enough to the water line as to create as much ripples as possible on the surface, it's about flow, not power.

Once the flow starts in creates circulation, laminar flow follows just like if you go on a round pool and start moving in one direction...in the beginning it demands energy from you, but after a couple of circles the current forms and you can barely walk without being lifted by the water! From that point on the little pump is just maintaining the flow, not creating it anymore, so basically the initial effort is great but then there is nothing more to it other then keeping it going...

Crazy right! Never thought of it that way but it makes so much sense to me now!

Rod

Interesting, especially considering I no folks that have pairs of MP 20s or 40s on 40 breader tanks.

I just added another powerhead to my nano. So I have a k nano in the bottom right shooting along the sand, a k nano on the mid-upper left shooting forward, and a aquaclear 30 on the upper right. Oh and a MJ feeding my skimmer via prefilterbox.
I am finally free of dead spots.

 

[rodclement]

Come over and take a look at the set-up...so far so good! ;D

Rod

 

[ds4x4]

my Koralias are too week for both to be on the same side of the tank so i put the flow director on and put one on each side. one at the top and one at the bottom. it's kinda working to get the water moving and looks like most of my corals are actually out today

 

[mfisher2112]

my Koralias are too week for both to be on the same side of the tank so i put the flow director on and put one on each side. one at the top and one at the bottom. it's kinda working to get the water moving and looks like most of my corals are actually out today

That's an interesting idea. Are you having any issue with the one at the bottom "storming" the sand?

 

[ds4x4]

no i used Bahama Live sand as this was my first tank so it takes alot to get the sand stirred up. I put the nozzle on the end of the Koralia so the flow isn't as broad.

 

[mfisher2112]

The only thing it takes to get my sand stirred up is my female tomato clown... Grr... I put the sand back, and within an hour, she has dug a 6" diamter hole dead smack center in the tank all the way down to the glass. She's driving me crazy. Almost 4 years with this pair of clowns, and she has never done this before. She's dug holes behind rocks and under caves, but never to this size scale and VISIBILITY!

I'm thinking of putting a rock there just to piss her off... LOL!

 

[Phyl]

If she's anything like my maroon she's either going to pick up the rock and throw it or dig somewhere else. Do you think she's cleaning to get ready to mate? My female stopped when she stopped mating.

 

[mfisher2112]

If she's anything like my maroon she's either going to pick up the rock and throw it or dig somewhere else. Do you think she's cleaning to get ready to mate? My female stopped when she stopped mating.

I don't know Phyl. I wish that were the case, they are about 4 years old now. Got them both at about 3/4" long WAAAY back when I started my first saltwater tank. They were my first fish.

But I didn't think they would be spawning right there smack dab in the front middle of the tank like that.

I checked the tank when the lights came on today, and she has about 8" across and from the front to the back of the tank completely "excavated".

They've never spawned before, but she does hover over this spot alot. The make hangs out on the left back side of the tank though. Strange... Although, spawning dead center like that would certainly make MY life easier! LOL!

 

[vangvace]

Come over and take a look at the set-up...so far so good! ;D

Rod

I do need to make a trip up that way sometime.