Turn over rate?

so how do i figure how much flow ( turn over rate ) do i have?

i have two koralia evolution 1400gph..
and 2 maji yet 1200gph
plus the flow from my return pump.

 

Add the rate of each pump plus the return rate at head together. Then divide by Actual water volume or the size of the tank in gallons.

 

maths

1400 x 2 = 2800
1200 x 2 = 2400
return x 1 =? 1500 example only as you did not state

add them up, and thats your total 6700

divide by the tank volume = volume per hour
so if they are in the 150 it would be
6700 divided by 150 = 44.6

Steve

 

i would of thought i had more flow than that.. ( i was kinda thinking on the 70s..)..

im not sure on how much the return pump gives.. its supposed to turn over the tank 3-5 times over.. i need to check on it when i get home.

the reason why i ask is because im planning on making my tank an SPS dominated tank so i need my flow to be on the high end.

 

^bump

 

Elwes, its spot on based on the numbers given
its that return pump thats the unknown

I allowed for 1500 gph, and it might be twice that much or more?
so knowing the turnover of that return pump is critical in order for us to give you a very accurate assesment of your turnover per hour

46 x is not bad anyway, if majority is focused in the upper 3rd
you may well find its perfectly acceptable for many SPS corals
(IME, the less intricate the branchwork is, the less flow it really needs
very high turnovers are better if you have complicated branchwork SPS that would otherwise trap debris, if they where not being cleansed regular by random, chaotic flow)

Steve

 

yeah i understand the part that i need my return flow to calculate the other flow.. the only question i had after that was, what is considered acceptable for an SPS tank.which was answered on your post k+ and thanks.

Although 46x might be ok, what would you recommend for a 150G? just to have a number for future reference...

 

Im at 72 now, have been higher, but backed it off (changed out a larger powerhead for a smaller one
its often a happy medium you need to find unless you do go full SPS

 

yeah, im going to try and go SPS dominated.. but its going to take a long time as i am still missing some things i need. ( and since i am at college, its going to be like 1 or 2 coral every other month).

so as for now i think i am ok, but when the time comes ill probably should look into another 2 power heads to get my flow a bit higher.

 

Honestly, numbers don't mean much. 40+ is a good place to start. I never even bother counting return flow. And flow from a powerhead is not really "tank turnover". I'm not trying to play semantics... it is just that it isn't like we are turning over the flow of the whole tank.... but ya, we like numbers and we need to call it something.

All I'm getting at is 40x in a 150g with nothing is a lot different than 40x in a 150g with say 300lbs of live rock. Is all that flow concentrated across the front of the rock, some through the rock...??? First and foremost is just making sure you have no dead spots. Especially through your rock. Then how do your corals look? Are they getting blasted, are there slow spots for other corals? Just get a guidline and go from there. Eliminate dead spots and keep your corals happy. What ever that number ends up being is not really important. Corals can actually have too much flow and it makes it difficult for them to capture food.

For reference: I had two MP40s in my 90g with about 120 lbs of LR. Thats 6000gph but I only had them turned up to 60% and they were anti synced... so really at most only about 60% flow at any given time... thats only 40x per hour, no dead spots anywhere, SPS more than happy, LPS could not find a quiet place to be.

The bigger problem is it is really difficult keeping a "mixed" reef. Seems we work so hard at getting flows up and blasting our acros, and watch as all our LPS shrivel up and recede. It's hard to make both happy in one tank. I had to get rid of most my LPS when I went SPS dominate.