Current flow in Biocube 29

Cabo2008 · 12/21/2014, 02:24 PM

Ok, so I've been reading around and seeing what everyone else is doing for flow in their nano's and I'm looking for some opinions on mine.

Just a little history, I used to have a 210G display reef tank years ago, but had to take it down due to relocating. Moving around and such prevented me from building a new tank. Now I decided I really wanted to get back into it, but until I buy another house, I don't want to go big, so I went with a Biocube 29.

Now, onto the flow question. Currently I have swapped out the stock return with a CA MJ1200, and have added 2x Tunze 6015's, and 1 Jebao WP-10 for wavemaking.

It's a bare bottom tank (I didn't want to deal with all the issues that can arise with a sand bed and I like the bare bottom look once coraline algae starts building up).

I have the 2x 6015's in each rear corner pointed down and to the front/middle to push any detritus to the front for easy cleaning during water changes.

The WP-10 is about mid-way down from the top and a little more toward the front on the right side (if you're facing the tank).

Now I don't think it's quite a "hurricane" in the tank, but there's a bit of current that really flows all over the place and it makes the WP-10 more of a powerhead than a "wave maker".

So what I'm thinking of doing is this:

-remove both 6015's
-add RW-4 opposite of the WP-10 to have kind of a "push-pull" for the waves/current

I'll have to do a little more work to siphon out the detrius during water changes but I think that might be better for the coral.

Oh, and I'm really just keeping LPS (mostly acan's and blasto's) now but might add some SPS higher in the tank later on down the road.

So what do you all think?

Nor_Cal_Guy · 12/22/2014, 12:50 AM

Video of current flow?

Cabo2008 · 12/22/2014, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nor_Cal_Guy

Video of current flow?

I'll make a video shortly. I'm not too sure how well you'll be able to see it as I don't have any softies which would be more noticeable.

Maybe I'll video it right as I'm feeding and leave the pumps running.

SNAKEMANVET · 12/22/2014, 06:49 PM

I just put a rw-4 in my 28,I run it on the third from the lowest setting and pulse set at midway,it is blow some of my sand.One of those and your wp-10 will be plenty.

njones · 12/23/2014, 09:07 AM

I just run the factory return for mine and it still seems like a lot of flow in some areas, but I would say without any sps you can cut back on some power and wires and take at least one out.

Cabo2008 · 12/23/2014, 06:27 PM

Cabo2008 · 12/23/2014, 06:32 PM

Ok, so I was testing to see if I embedded it right and now I can't edit it, so I'll just add the notes in this post.

First, yes, that pretty heavy feeding, but I did't it to better show the flow. I'm doing a water change after I finish this post.

Second, in this video, the RW4 and the right (as you view the video) down-pointing 6015 is turned on. The left 6015 is off.

Thanks for your observations and ideas!

Nor_Cal_Guy · 12/23/2014, 10:04 PM

upload it to youtube, post a link. No link in your post above...

Cabo2008 · 12/24/2014, 05:41 AM

That's wierd, it shows up when im logged in, but doesn't when I'm not.

Anyway, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6DZiAyz0Pg

Nor_Cal_Guy · 12/28/2014, 11:22 PM

That's a lot of food! Looks like PLENTY of flow to me. How do the corals seem to like it? I'd say you can do with less flow for feeding sake of the coral.

Fast snail BTW.

Cabo2008 · 01/09/2015, 05:39 PM

Hey! Thanks for the comments. I kind lost track of this over the holidays.

Yeah, that was a lot of food....really just to show the flow better (I did a water change right after this to clean it out a bit).

The coral seem pretty happy so far. I've actually changed it around a bit (you know how it is.....always trying to make it better). I'm running a RW-4 wavemaker now with a Koralia in the back corner aimed forward to keep the bottom cleaner.

My biggest issue now is getting the placement and settings right to get more natural wave motion in the tank from the RW-4.

12/21/2014, 02:24 PM	#1
Cabo2008 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 248	Current flow in Biocube 29 Ok, so I've been reading around and seeing what everyone else is doing for flow in their nano's and I'm looking for some opinions on mine. Just a little history, I used to have a 210G display reef tank years ago, but had to take it down due to relocating. Moving around and such prevented me from building a new tank. Now I decided I really wanted to get back into it, but until I buy another house, I don't want to go big, so I went with a Biocube 29. Now, onto the flow question. Currently I have swapped out the stock return with a CA MJ1200, and have added 2x Tunze 6015's, and 1 Jebao WP-10 for wavemaking. It's a bare bottom tank (I didn't want to deal with all the issues that can arise with a sand bed and I like the bare bottom look once coraline algae starts building up). I have the 2x 6015's in each rear corner pointed down and to the front/middle to push any detritus to the front for easy cleaning during water changes. The WP-10 is about mid-way down from the top and a little more toward the front on the right side (if you're facing the tank). Now I don't think it's quite a "hurricane" in the tank, but there's a bit of current that really flows all over the place and it makes the WP-10 more of a powerhead than a "wave maker". So what I'm thinking of doing is this: -remove both 6015's -add RW-4 opposite of the WP-10 to have kind of a "push-pull" for the waves/current I'll have to do a little more work to siphon out the detrius during water changes but I think that might be better for the coral. Oh, and I'm really just keeping LPS (mostly acan's and blasto's) now but might add some SPS higher in the tank later on down the road. So what do you all think?

12/23/2014, 06:27 PM	#6
Cabo2008 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 248	Flow video

12/22/2014, 12:50 AM	#2
Nor_Cal_Guy Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: NorCal Posts: 300	Video of current flow?

12/22/2014, 06:49 PM	#4
SNAKEMANVET PREMIUM MEMBER Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: TRENTON Tn Posts: 4,486	I just put a rw-4 in my 28,I run it on the third from the lowest setting and pulse set at midway,it is blow some of my sand.One of those and your wp-10 will be plenty.

12/23/2014, 09:07 AM	#5
njones Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 32	I just run the factory return for mine and it still seems like a lot of flow in some areas, but I would say without any sps you can cut back on some power and wires and take at least one out.

12/23/2014, 06:32 PM	#7
Cabo2008 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 248	Ok, so I was testing to see if I embedded it right and now I can't edit it, so I'll just add the notes in this post. First, yes, that pretty heavy feeding, but I did't it to better show the flow. I'm doing a water change after I finish this post. Second, in this video, the RW4 and the right (as you view the video) down-pointing 6015 is turned on. The left 6015 is off. Thanks for your observations and ideas!

12/23/2014, 10:04 PM	#8
Nor_Cal_Guy Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: NorCal Posts: 300	upload it to youtube, post a link. No link in your post above...

12/24/2014, 05:41 AM	#9
Cabo2008 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 248	That's wierd, it shows up when im logged in, but doesn't when I'm not. Anyway, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6DZiAyz0Pg

12/28/2014, 11:22 PM	#10
Nor_Cal_Guy Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: NorCal Posts: 300	That's a lot of food! Looks like PLENTY of flow to me. How do the corals seem to like it? I'd say you can do with less flow for feeding sake of the coral. Fast snail BTW.

01/09/2015, 05:39 PM	#11
Cabo2008 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 248	Hey! Thanks for the comments. I kind lost track of this over the holidays. Yeah, that was a lot of food....really just to show the flow better (I did a water change right after this to clean it out a bit). The coral seem pretty happy so far. I've actually changed it around a bit (you know how it is.....always trying to make it better). I'm running a RW-4 wavemaker now with a Koralia in the back corner aimed forward to keep the bottom cleaner. My biggest issue now is getting the placement and settings right to get more natural wave motion in the tank from the RW-4.