Thinking of taking my water mover out.

[TXSea]

I am thinking of taking my water mover out as my Xenias are blowing all over the place no matter where I place them. Its a 250 gph mover and I'm wondering if this is a bad idea. I think my biocube pump is a little strong as well. FYI it's a 29 gallon biocube. Will the Xenias be okay in a fairly high flow area?

[tebstan]

My xenia are in really high flow. I never get to see their pumping action, though.

Do you have the powerhead pointed at the glass, into the center of the tank, toward the surface?

[TXSea]

It's pointed at the center of the tank. I was just really wondering if high flow is okay for them. They are babies not much taller than an inch.

[SinisterLou]

If anything the flow will help them grow, before you know it you will have a xenia garden.

[tebstan]

Try pointing it at the glass to break up the flow, so you get more random current.

You don't want them beaten down flat by current. A little bit lower flow would probably be better for them, but changing the power head might help. Mine grew more in a lower flow spot, but they grew too much.

Is the power head one with a swivel attachment, to give you more control of the direction?

[TXSea]

Yeah.. its an oceanic power head and does swivel. I hope I end up with a bunch as they look nice in a garden setup.

[allan]

I have some xenia stalks in a slow to moderate flow area. GSP, IME, are a lot like the xenia as far as flow. They like to be massaged by the current, and if they are being blown about a bit they should do good.

[Kristy]

FYI: we have our xenia right in front of a powerhead in Mike's tank so we put that powerhead on a timer. It cuts on and off every 30 minutes which gives the xenia the best of both worlds. They seem very, very happy with that arrangement.

[tebstan]

FYI: we have our xenia right in front of a powerhead in Mike's tank so we put that powerhead on a timer. It cuts on and off every 30 minutes which gives the xenia the best of both worlds. They seem very, very happy with that arrangement.

That's a spoiled xenia! :D

[Kristy]

That's a spoiled xenia! :D

Welllll.... truth be told, we did it because there is also a carpet anemone in there that doesn't like too much flow. The on/off seemed to be the best compromise to keep detritus from compromising water quality, but still give the occupants what they need. The xenia's happiness was an afterthought!

[littlewrentx]

I played with the flow in my 14g Biocube until the corals were happy. I have a Koralia nano hitting the front of the glass and blowing over 2 mushroom corals. The dime sized mushrooms are now 4.5 inches across when they are fully expanded. The Kenya trees get really bushy with high flow while my toadstools like a "medium" flow in that tank. The current is also blasting across the yellow polyps. They seem to like high flow.

[justahobby]

Finding the right position for your powerheads can be tricky but worth it. I have a Koralia 1 and MJ1200 return pump (around 600-700 gph total) in my biocube 14 and I couldn't imagine having any less flow. I use a hydor flow to give an alternating current.