much less flow seems better

[Bear]

I have a 125 mixed reef. A few SPS, some leathers, LPS, at least a dozen different shroom kinds, tons of zoas, clams, and a few others. Normally the tank runs with 2 1200 Maxijets and 2 1100 SEIOs. The SEIOs are vertically 3/4s the way up the glass and horizontally centered and both pointed at the opposite front corner of the tank. The Maxijets were placed to help counter the flow of the SEIOs to make the flow more random and keep the flow from stirring sand.

After taking a trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach Aquarium in CA ) and looking at many LPS/Softie tanks around town I noticed that they have very little flow in comparison to my own and the corals looked much better/biggier/happier, and the tanks looked much clearer. I decided to give it a try a couple days ago.

I turned off the SEIOS and pointed the Maxijets so that the SPS would still get enough flow and the tank would still get enough oxygen. The water is more clear, all of the LPS looks bigger and puffier and still has clear movement. The leathers are also like this. The Clams also seem to like the drop of movement and the zoas aren't blowing around like crazy. and all of my mushrooms, from yumas to rhos, all have gotten much bigger. Even the RTN on one of my SPS has stopped (I had already lost a porties to flow even though it was placed far out of direct flow and what it was recieving seemed far from excessive).

What do you guys make of this? Should we really be putting so much flow in mixed tanks?

Is there something I am forgetting?

[leveldrummer]

you really dont need much flow in softy/lps tanks, but thats kinda why its hard to keep mixed tanks, because sps do need a high amount of flow, and also the chemical warfare that will easily take place between sps and softies. flow in itself is also very misunderstood, you dont have to blast anything with constant streams of pressure, thats why tunze and such are so popular, they put out a WIDE, GENTLE pattern. a simple wave box in most cases is enough flow for all corals.

[Bear]

So do you think that perhaps what I am trying may be the way to go?

[leveldrummer]

the other thread you posted is indeed the way things seem to be moving in the hobby, lots of people at studying flow right now, and finding out that a couple powerheads at the top of the tank, on one side, facing the same direction, will push water across the top, it will hit the opposite wall, travel down and under creating a large circular motion, and with just 2 small powerheads, you can create enough flow to keep anything, putting 2 large powerheads across from each oether, pointing at each other, creates alot of turbulence, which is good, but uses alot of energy, studies are showing that a constant flow across the reef face. for maybe a few minutes, and then a current switch (wave maker timer or etc) is much easier to achieve and cost effective, and is just as good, if not better, for corals

[Osiris]

I might have to decide to keep my koralia ones. Right now i only have flow from my return that is split as when i put the seahorses in i shut down the koralia pumps until they mounted, only to discover a couple mounted on the damn powerheads themselves lol.

Interesting thread