how much current is too much?

i have a 20 gallon tank, 30 lbs. live rock, sand. 2 black clowns are present. the powerhead is 600 gph, filter 280 gph, skimmer 260 gph. approx. 1100 gph total, which turns the tank over roughly 55+ times/hour. the clowns are swimming around a lot but not struggling against the movement. wondering if i should replace the powerhead with something less powerful. any comments would really be appreciated. thanks!

 

as long as stuff isnt being disrupted it should be good. IMO The more flow the better i think

 

+1 on crusty for me
as long as the sand bed stays where its meant to be your ok generally
if you had all that flow on one power head and it was all travelling in the same direction
then that would be different
as the output is coming from different sources and thus not all being forced in one direction, IMO your fine

Steve

 

lemme put it this way id consider making the sides of my tank bigger so i could make a larger wave crest across the top of my water if i could afford the pumps

the more flow in the display tank without sand disruption the better

 

Thank you very much for the replies. The sand does not move around except for a few grains in one corner will lift up off the bed occasionally, then fall back down. The top of the tank has vigorous water movement. I was really just concerned that the clowns are exerting too much energy just to stay afloat, and if they were able to sleep at night with that much flow. Does anyone here ever turn the power-head off at night to let the fish rest?

 

all mine are on 24/7 reeftrons

Steve

 

Im sure there is a lower-flow area in the tank that the fish can sleep in. I dont think the ocean stops moving water at night to allow its inhabitants a calming water to sleep in