Tip of the Day – 11/1/2011

When it comes to aquarium water flow, there really is such a thing as too much. Many online forums have threads indicating that the more water flow you have the better. Members of the forum often post that in order to keep SPS reef tanks, the aquarium needs to have a water turnover rate of 50-60x the total water volume or more. This flow rate is achieved by using multiple water pumps, and having all of these pumps generating so much water movement can play havoc on some of the aquarium livestock. If a pump is aimed directly at the reef, or a coral is subjected to strong currents, the tissue could be blown off and cause the coral to die. Some fish also don’t do well in high flow environments. Most will adapt to the conditions with little issue, but some fish can’t swim strongly enough to keep from getting blown into rocks or sucked into pumps.