water movement

[sk8now2003]

i am currently starting to set up a 120 gallon reef tank. does anyone have any suggestions on how many powerheads i should use for water circulation and what gph ratings. thanks.

[Gecko]

You should look at the corals you plan to keep and look into their requirements but I have always heard of using a 10X turnover rate. I on the other hand decided to double that number. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing but the tank looks good. I am sure more knowledgeable people will chime in.

[Thomas]

A lot depends on the actual dimensions of the tank and how you intend to fill it up with live rock and the like. I am assuming the tank being a 120 is 4' X 2' X 2'.
Next is this a reef ready tank or can it not be drilled. What about overflows? I like the Hydor Koralia power heads. They come in 4 sizes and range from 28-50 dollars. Magnetic base is a real plus.

[DaveK]

In addition to the factors Gecko and Thomas mentioned, there is also the factor of price.

How much are you willing to spend to get the flow you want?

For example, in my own 125 gal reef I use a pair of Tunze Stream pumps on a Tunze multicontroller. The flow using this system is one of the best random flow patterns I can get, since the multicontroller is set up by the user. Many different flows can be generated. The downside is that two stream pumps and the multicontroller will cost you about $900 today.

[sk8now2003]

i am not sure if i am just going to have a wall of live rock or have a pile at each end sloping down to a flat sandy middle. i am thinking of having everything from sps to soft corals. i am looking to spend around 200 on water flow. this tank is an all-glass tempered tank so i cant drill. but i will have a 40 gallon breeder underneath for my refugium. so i will have an overflow.

[sk8now2003]

i know that the tank is 6 feet long 2 feet wide and i think it is 2 feet tall. so it might not be 120gal. but its somewhere around there. thanks for all the replies, keep them coming, this is helping me out a lot.

[DaveK]

To compute the size of a tank in US gallons, multiply the dimensions in inches, and divide by 231.

If you have a tank that is 72 x 24 x 24, you have 41,472 cubic inches, divided by 231, give you 179.5 gallons.

If you have not yet bought the tank, opt for a reef ready tank, and don't use an external overflow. You'll have a lot less floods from the system. If you already have the tank, and can't otherwise drill or exchange it, get a Lifereef overflow. Yes, they do cost twice as much as the cheep overflows, but they are not prone to failure.