appropriate GPH range?

so i know there isn't any one good answer to this question, but....

once i get it up n running i'll have 1183(approx.)gph in my 55gal.

is that enough? or should i thrown in some powerheads?

i guess what i'm really asking is what is a good gph range to have that will allow me to keep a variety of fish/corals?

i know that some of them need high gph, and others need low gph....

 

It really depends on the corals you want to keep. And the design of your aquascape.
For SPS corals about 40-50X display tank volume.
If you plan to have soft and LPS corals 1200 would probably work. Best to have it spread out with more than one power head instead of all of it just out of the return.
Keep in mind these type of formulas are for the display tank. You would want less going through parts of your sump. Depends on your setup though. Worth some reading if you're just setting up.

 

Agreed- you need more than one source of flow for best coverage, and if that 1183 is from your return, it's way too much for the sump. That should be in the 300gph range to allow your skimmer, reactors, etc time to process the water, then add powerheads/wavemakers to increase flow in the dt.

For sps corals, flow should be around 2750+gph (50x or higher); for mushrooms, polyps, and most lps, 1100-1650gph (20-30x) will suffice.

While all softies are lumped together, I disagree. IMOPE, leathers tend to prefer more flow. I get better growth and polyp extension, and far less "closed" time for shedding at 40x (2200gph in your tank).

Hope this helps.

 

well here's what i've got.

i do not have the money to set up a sump right now...

383gph- fluval 406 canister filter
300gph- marineland HOB fiter converted to mini fuge
500gph- reef ocotpus HOB skimmer.

i'll spread them out along the back of the tank pointing in different directions to get the most surface agitation.

 

i was gonna get a couple 500gph powerheads to being it up to 2183gph, but i didn't know if i had that high of a gph might rule out me being able to keep some fish/corals.

 

Well, that changes things. FWIW, I have 2 HOBs flowing across the surface, and 1 powerhead (running the UGF) pointed toward the front glass at an angle.

That would suffice for most any coral except SPS. You'll just need to find lower-flow areas for some, especially mushrooms and some LPS. SPS would thrive, but with too little flow, their skeletons tend to become deformed.

BTW, flow doesn't really impact what fish you can keep. They'll adapt to most anything.

 

All true. I was just thinking about some of my past xenias getting beat up in my past tank. Bill knows what he's talking about so I would listen to him.
I do have some ricordeas in a fairly high flow area.

 

ok, so obviously i'm new.... and thanks bill

but idk what LPS and SPS and all that means, i know theyre different types of corals,but ummm..... huh?

sorry for my ignorance.

 

Reef acronyms:
http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aq...cronyms-abbreviations-54351.html#.UwjVUSicd_U

 

also, if you put your cursor on abbreviations on this site it will tell you what it stands for