Scwd opinions

Do you have a 6' tank or a 4' tank?

How many returns will you have, and where will they be?

How you aim them is important as well. If you go with two returns, I'd aim them both at the center of the front panel just below the water so they hit the same spot. As the SCWD switches, one or both of them will be "live" and the action of them hitting each other and the front panel should give you some randomness.

Here are some examples:

On our 4' 100 gal, I'm running two main returns on a SCWD at each rear corner plus three closed-loop returns evenly spaced across the bottom (each has a separate control valve) about 6" from the tank bottom.

On a 48" 60 gal, I'm running 3 main returns (each rear corner and a center return) and no closed-loop. The two corner returns are on a SCWD, but the center one is not, but it is valved so I can balance its output.

Then, there's the 210, which is 7' long. It's a peninsula build, so the two mains are at one end (on a SCWD), and the four closed-loop returns (Ocean Motions 4-way) are in the tank's bottom and are hidden in the rockwork.

All of these setups house lionfish, scorps, stingfish, waspfish, etc.

HTH

 

It's a 125, 6 foot long and it has the scwd with two returns one in each corner on the back glass I have two aqueon 950 gph and one koralia not sure of size but I can use these if needed just hoping to not have much equipment in the tank and I want a reef without sps

 

Thank you for asking that question!!!

 

I use a 1" scwd on my 100g. I use a mag 9.5 for my return pump. I used the smaller one on my 55. Both worked great.

 

Do you have any extra power heads in use

 

The thing to do is set up the system and aquascape it. Then try aiming your returns a few different ways. If you can get adequate surface turbulence and reasonable flow thruout the tank, then you're golden.

You can always add PH's later if you need to do so. I suspect that if you add a center return with a valve, it and the SCWD returns will be enuff flow without adding PHs.

 

I will work with it some then and maybe won't have to add PHs

 

The 1" SCWD was a huge improvement over the 3/4". The ability to clean it was a big plus and they lowered the resistance so it does not zap your pump GPH as bad as the 25-30% flow reduction the 3/4" version causes.

 

So I should be ok with it since its the one inch?

 

I would say so, its like night and day over the 3/4" version.
I still like my Oceans Motions Squirt much better but the 1" SCWD is a good cost effective option. If I hadn't come across a great deal on a used Squirt I would probably still be using one.
I still have two Hydor Evolutions 1400 powerheads too powered by a Reefkeeper Lite on the wavemaker function set at 30 second switching intervals though to add even more random flows. With the Squirt and Evos on different inetervals sometimes all the flow is from one end, other times it may be split or switches in the middle of a cycle so its very random. Love the flow even with 330 lbs of Southdown sugar sand 5-6" deep in a 5 foot 100G system.