Medium water flow in a 29g

[swalke2]

I am in the gathering process for a 29g reef setup and will be attempting soft corals after im all setup and running. I tried searching for my answer but maybe I didnt ask right or just missed the answer.

I see alot of the soft coral requires medium waterflow. What exactly does that mean? How can I judge how fast the waterflow is? Is it the amount of water the PH passes compared to the tank size and how fast it passes it?

If so, it seems that 2 Koralia nano that have an output of 240 gph or 425 gph would be more than enough for a 29g........correct?

I would like to get the right thing first and not buy to small or to big and have water tornadoing out of my tank.

Thanks for any insight on this

Steve

 

[chull13]

I think 10x turnover ( so around 300 gal/hr total) is enough for soft corals but you want rendom flow not one powerhead blasting in one spot 24-7.

 

[cr500_af]

IMO the Koralia Nanos are very weak. I'd probably use K1s or even K2s (or the equivalent size in the new Koralia Evolutions). I use 2 K2s in a 24g frag tank and it isn't too much flow for soft corals at all.

 

[jef4y]

The biggest thing is the type of flow. If you have a powerhead that blasts a concentrated 100GPH, that will rip things apart over a broad powerhead at 300GPH.

The Koralia's are great at offering a broad flow, and having 2 of them is far better than just one as you can create more of a random flow. 2 of the smaller koralia's on the back walls or the back of the side wall, mid-way down through the tank, both aiming at the center of the front glass (aim one slightly higher than the other) will produce a very nice random turbulent flow through the tank that should be good for softies.

I had 3 K1's going in my Biocube 29 for reference.

Don't be disturbed by the GPH that you see in these pumps. They are VERY gentle.

 

[crew]

the problem with powerheads is you have to spend the big bucks or you get constant water flow instead of random water flow.

I've seen the attachments that you add on for pretty cheap, but they are just that.. pretty cheap.

if you do get 2 powerheads, I would recommend pointing them at each other to try and randomize the flow in your tank. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's worked for me over the last 2 years.

 

[codsack]

I have a 29 gal tank pumping 300 gph and I also tossed in a Koralia 2 for extra flow. I was also told the Koralia nano wouldn't be enough, I'm glad I listened.

 

[swalke2]

Thanks!!! I have a nano set up at the moment while it cycles and will start looking for maybe a #2 to help stir it up some and get some random flow going.