Powerheads, too much power? upsetting fish

[shamoo]

Hello Reefers

I've recently upgraded a few items, my return pump from ehiem compact+ 5000 to a Ecotech Vetra M1. which is awesome!!
And more to the point, my original powerhead that i got 2nd hand and didn't really know what i needed is a Korilla 4 wave @ 1215 g/h, i have since added a 2nd powerhead Aqua Medic ecodrift 15.1 @ 790-3950 gph. So at 100% flow i would have a total of 5165 g/h. Still lower than the x40 flow recomondation which for me would be 6200 g/h.

Here's my issue, before i added the 2nd powerhead my fish were swimming all over the tank and seemed very happy all eating well etc. When i added the new powerhead at 80% the fish seemed to struggle against the current and all grouped together in one spot and occasionally getting pushed around when they got caught in the current.
i changed the position of the PH but nothing really worked. I have since lowered the 2nd PH to 40% (total flow from both PH = 3150 g/h, half of whats recommended). Now they seem happier swimming more freely around the tank. Whats the deal with the flow rate? is it what the fish required to keep them healthy or for water movement? or both? Has anyone else had the same issue? i was thinking as the fish grow or when i add fish that required more flow to slowly up the power.
Baiscally any advise would be helpful..

ps in the future i do plan on adding SPS but not for another 6 months or so

thanks everyone

[mcgyvr]

Your fish have just gotten lazy...
No way 40x is too much for fish

[Dmorty217]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Your fish have just gotten lazy...
No way 40x is too much for fish

+1 in my old 220g I had 150xs turnover and everything was fine

[shamoo]

LAZY FISH!!! i'll up the power every couple of weeks untill 100% is reached. almost like us going to the gym and running a marathon straight away lol.. steadily build up the pace

[steallife904]

could play with the flow a bit to see if there attitude changes. maybe find the happy spot . Would say your return pump flow rate is fine but maybe if you have the ability dial down the powerheads or maybe aim them differently. If the fish are not happy they could stress and could get an ich or something else outbreak...... Or it could all be fine, the beauty of this hobby

[shamoo]

i thinnk you're right about the general happiness of the fish, funny how a slight change, changes thier behaviour. My power heads were situated in the middle, i have since positioned them more toward the top and pointing in different angles they seem much happier.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Originally Posted by shamoo

i thinnk you're right about the general happiness of the fish, funny how a slight change, changes thier behaviour. My power heads were situated in the middle, i have since positioned them more toward the top and pointing in different angles they seem much happier.

All the better. Surface agitation breaks up dissolved organics which are removed by the skimmer much more efficiently.