Can you ever have too much flow?

[CHILL]

Quick question. Can you have too much flow in a tank?

I have a 120 FOWLR with a Mag 9.5 return (950 gph) and was looking to add 2 of the Seio 620s (620 gph each). This would more than double the flow rate in the tank. Would this be a problem?

Currently the tank houses 1 yellow tang, 25 lbs of LR and some decorative pieces of coral.

Thanks
Chris

 

[tazdevil]

I'd only see it as a problem if the water became so turbulent that the fishes/corals were continually harassed by it (corals always closed, fish cowering to avoid being buffeted). This can also be controlled with gate valves, changing direction of flow etc, and I always like more pumps than less as your not depending on one not to fail.

 

[Len]

Your plan sounds fine.

You can have too much flow, but it's really more about velocity then about gph. What I mean is in order to get a lot of gph in our tanks, we employ multiple (big) pumps that jet a lot of water very quickly. It's the speed that is undesirable, not the volume of water moved. Ideally, you want a lot of movement, but not all that fast.

 

[myreeef]

The Seio pumps are stream type pumps that move a lot of water in a wide pattern (low velocity) which is good.

The Mag pump moves a lot of water in a concentrated pattern (high velocity) which is ok, as long as it is not pointing directly at your corals or fish. The fish can stay out of its way if it is bothersome for them. Your corals won't be able to follow your fish, so if you observe unhappy coral behavior (polyps always retracted, or in extremes skin shedding) point the flow of the Mag in a different direction.

IMO adding the Seio pumps should be an overall benefit. Since you have a FOWLR setup, your coraline and LR will benefit which should benefit the health of the tank which should benefit your fish!