How much circulation in a 55gal?

[NonSequitur]

I'm still in the process of getting my new 55gal online, lights are in the works (4x65w PC, adding 1x 150w MH), so now my thoughts have turned to filtration/circulation. How much waterflow is recommended for a tank this size? I'm probably going to get a mag5 or equivalent for the return pump (going to do a 10gal sump with skimmer in one of the stand compartments, 10-15 gal fuge in the other), and I have a MJ1200 and Rio 1400 that I'll probably use for circulation in the beginning (likely on opposite sides of the tank facing each other). Will this provide an adequate amount of flow, or should I look into getting some koralias as well?

Am I on the right track? I've never set up a tank bigger than my AP12, so I'd appreciate any advice I can get.

[+southside45]

I've got a 55 short (30L X 18W X 24H) with a 20gallon sump. I'm using a mag 9.5 with split return, a koralia 2 and one koralia 3 for circulation in the tank. I think it's a good amount for me but as my tank is deep it takes a little more for the circulation to stay good towards the bottom. I think your probably fine with the mag 5 but should maybe go with the koralias or better for the powerheads.

[dav_nolen]

i have one koralia #2 and one #3 in my standard 55g.

[Gonzobob]

While you will certainly need more circulation than you currently have how much circulation and where in the tank you want the circulation will be driven by what types of livestock you want to keep in the tank. Corals can differ greatly in how much and what type of circulation is preferred or needed.

[Zarathustra2]

Adding to Gonzo's post. As a rule of thumb you want 10-20x tank turnover as a baseline for softies or mushrooms ect. Baseline of 20X flow for SPS but you can easily go up to 40 or 50x without a problem. You also want to place your powerheads (for most corals) where they are not getting directly hit with it.

So lets say you want 30x flow for your tank as you want to grow out some SPS but keep the flow slow enough for LPS and softies in some areas. 55*30=1650GPH. Generally you want more powerheads at a lower flow than just one big one (to help with a more random current.) I also generally don't count my return pump but I like to use that as a spray bar to keep dead spots out from the back of my rock so its not really directly adding to current. So if you use 3 K2s (600GPH each) two on the top corners pointed so they make an "x" in the current in the middle of the tank and then one in the back hidden in the rockwork pointed at where the "x" meets you'll have good turbulent flow through your tank.

With your returns you are getting plenty of flow. Just make sure you cross the streams and you might want to add a k1 or K2 to help mix it up. If you are doing a solid SPS tank you really can't have too much turbulent flow. I saw a RC TOTM the other day that had ~100x turnover (250g *100 = 25000GPH!!!!) and he attributed a big part of his success in growing SPS to the high turnover. OTOH if you were growing LPS in that current they would shred apart and die in a couple of days.

[NonSequitur]

Thanks for the advice!. Right now I'm planning on keepingprimarily softies (kenya, xenia, zoas if I could ever keep them alive)and LPS, maybe a birdsnest or two, and perhaps the pink stylophora thatmy daughter covets whenever we go to aquatek, and possibly an anemone and/or a clam (if I end up with enough lighting). I'll probably plan on the 3x k2 arrangement for now and upgrade if it looks like I'll need more flow.

[Zarathustra2]

Actually for softies you should be just fine. If you want to add some turbulent flow Hydor makes a fantastic device called the Rotating Water Deflector. It's about 15 bucks and gives you a great alternating water current without adding any powerheads or anything. I use it on a maxi-jet I have in my nano and it works just great to add some variety to the current in my system.

[Stephen]

I have a 1020 gph in my 58 gallon. Which is composed of two iwaki RLT-30 pumps. One is the return and the other is for the closed loop.