water current and acropora

[Markster]

I have a 75 gal RR that has combination of soft, hard, and LPS corals. I was running one Mag 9.5 to a SCWD and then to left and right outputs into the tank. The SCWD was failing IMO, so I took out and now have the Mag just on one side and then added a Pengiun 550 on the other to have good water flow. In the past few weeks, I have noticed the acro pieces losing tissue and the stalks just being covered with algae. So, I talked wit the folks at Aquatic Warehouse and they recommended I increase my water current. Thus, I have ordered another Mag 9.5 in which I will hook up on the other side and then use a $29 Coralife timer to alternate every 15 minutes on each side. Should this be enough? I thought of leaving the Penguin in there and just point it at the acro on top of the reef full time. Any suggestions or comments?

Th

[matt]

So, you'll only have one mag at a time on? That's not enough flow IMO. Hate to tell you this, but the coral necrosis could be unrelated. About half the corals in my tank are experiencing this. I'm not sure what's causing it, but it must be some sort of pathogen. If the necrosis spreads really fast, like destroying an entire colony or frag within a day or two, you could have big trouble. Hopefully it's just the flow.

[captexas]

One possible issue with the setup is how well the mag pumps will handle being turned on and shut off so often. Most motors don't handle that kind of stress very well. I think you would be better off keeping the pumps on full time and finding a way to oscillate the return outlets with something like a sea swirl or other device. As Matt stated, one 9.5 is probably not enough flow for a 75g for keeping SPS.

[Tim Marvin]

SQWD

[captexas]

Actually he took the SQWD off. It may just need to be cleaned.

I would also try having one of the pumps run the regular return line to the tank through the overflow and then use the other pump on a closed loop on the sqwd. Put the closed loop pump up closer to the top of the tank so it doesn't have to fight as much head pressure and deal with the back pressure of the sqwd. That will get you more overall flow and a little more random flow.

[kaiser]

Rather than putting the mags on a timer i would run one for return and one for a closed loop. At least that will give You a good bit more flow.

[Tim Marvin]

Random flow, or pulsing/surging flow is more what the acropora needs. A constant flow from one direction will not be very healthy for the corals.

[RobertG]

Bite the bullet, go see Roger at Aquatek & get a Tunze 6100 STREAM!!! This is a great pump. I have two & have no current issues. Also have Mag 24, it does alright however it feeds two returns, Cal reac. , UV ster.

I spent this cash so I would never worry about flow. In a 75 this would cause you to blow sand off bottom if you dont have enough rock. Other than that have no complaints!! I dont know what you might pay with a Mag 9.5. At least look into them. You will never have flow issues again. I promise you. They also come with a controller It surges from 30 to 100 % Or anywhere in between.

BTW they quit selling them with controllers, I do have a extra single controller. Will trade or sell..

[reefer]

markster, a tunze turbelle stream is the way to go! if rg is willing to sell or trade the controller, imo, that's a great deal, all you need is the powerhead. i run 2 streams on my reeftank, and i get great current flow through out the tank.
8)

[Markster]

Not Ivan but the other guy at Aquatic Warehouse suggested having two mags on have them come on in 15 minute intervals. I was thinking that might be to long on one side and then the other, etc. I am going to clean the SCWD I have and could put on one mag. What is meant by the closed loop with SCWD, in terms of setup?

[captexas]

For a closed loop, you have a drain line that goes to the pump and the a return line from the pump to the tank. There is no sump or anything in line. Using PVC you can make a drain line and put a bulkhead screen on it to keep anything from being sucked in and make a return pipe either going to the SQWD under the water surface or from it to two hang on return pipes. Somewhere there is a nice pic of a simple setup like I'm describing, but I can't remember where that was. Maybe someone else on here will remember and can post it.

[Markster]

Yes, I saw a diagram of that while surfing the web earlier. I do have a problem with the SCWD. I was going to clean it and found a rattle inside. Got the Mag flashlight and saw a white round piece loose inside. It appears to mount or screw on top of a white pipe in the middle of the device. There is no way to open the darn thing up so I guess that one is a goner. I sold the other one, brand new, to Kaiser this past weekend as I felt the two Mag 9.5s running 15 minutes alternating sides would be efficient. Guess I will play with that and see what happens. It will be much more than what I have been used to.

[kaiser]

Check with Jim Norris. I recall he had a seaswirl for sale just a while back.

[GaryP]

I just added 4 Maxijet 12's to my 125 gal. SPS tank. The polyps on my 125 have sure opened up. Looks good. If I could just figure out how to keep the suction cups stuck to the glass I would be doing good. I also have a Blueline 40 external pump on order.

Gary

[Tim Marvin]

Use a surge unit like SeaWorld has. I think they made it from an oilrig pump......LOL. You could probably surge 30-40 thousand gallons per swing....

[Tim Marvin]

If that fails go back to the SQWD.....

[Markster]

How good is the Red Sea Wavemaster Pro? It reads that it comes with a soft start feature...would that be better on the pump/powerheads then turning them off and on every 15 minutes?

[captexas]

As mentioned earlier, some pumps do better than others with the constant off/on. The soft start feature is supposed to help reduce the wear and tear by slowly starting the pumps instead of the sudden surge in power. Still, some pumps handle this better than others. As far as powerheads go, Red Sea recommends MaxiJets as they seem to work the best. Most people that have used the wavemaker agree that the MJs are better than others. For larger pumps like a Mag 9.5, I have never heard how those work under such a setup. In my opinion, the Wavemaster Pro would probably work better than a simple timer shutting them off and on constantly.

[Markster]

I just installed the second Mag 9.5 and have the Coralife timer running them both (15 minutes each side). The timer completely shuts off the pump during intervals. I am going to try this for awhile to see what happens. I removed the Penguin 550 to see the outcome of having two 9.5s running one at time from each side. Thanks for everyone's comments.