My apologies if this question has cropped up before but I just cannot find a good answer to the question “How much water flow�
I suspect the answer will likely begin with “It dependsâ€, but I’d like to ask in general terms. For instance, I’ve seen quotes such as 15-20 times the tank size, so a 100 gallon tank might need 1,500 to 2,000 gph flow using powerheads or other pump sources. I’ve heard that this number needs to take into account the number of gallons being returned, per hour, by your main system pump, and I’ve heard from other sources that you don’t count the main system pump volume…which is it?
Maybe I’m trying to be too simplistic, but as an example, I’d like to know if this is an acceptable model to determine the number of powerheads to use. Tank size (X) times some value of multiplier (Y). Subtract from that the flow of the system pump (S) (or not) then divide that by the flow of my chosen powerhead (Z) = number of powerheads (rounded up to nearest whole number).
Tank size = X
Multiplier = Y
PH flow rate = Z
System Pump = S
X times Y divided by Z or ((X times Y) minus S) divided by Z = # of powerheads
Maybe the multiplier differs if you are doing a FOWLR or plan on having an SPS or LPS tank but I’m trying to get in the ballpark and there are so many widely differing opinions.
In addition to a mathematical approach, I’ve read in some journals that you can measure flow rates by timing how long it takes a piece of food to travel a certain distance across your tank. I could not see how to turn that into a number of powerheads since poowerheads are not rated in flow rates.
I suspect the answer will likely begin with “It dependsâ€, but I’d like to ask in general terms. For instance, I’ve seen quotes such as 15-20 times the tank size, so a 100 gallon tank might need 1,500 to 2,000 gph flow using powerheads or other pump sources. I’ve heard that this number needs to take into account the number of gallons being returned, per hour, by your main system pump, and I’ve heard from other sources that you don’t count the main system pump volume…which is it?
Maybe I’m trying to be too simplistic, but as an example, I’d like to know if this is an acceptable model to determine the number of powerheads to use. Tank size (X) times some value of multiplier (Y). Subtract from that the flow of the system pump (S) (or not) then divide that by the flow of my chosen powerhead (Z) = number of powerheads (rounded up to nearest whole number).
Tank size = X
Multiplier = Y
PH flow rate = Z
System Pump = S
X times Y divided by Z or ((X times Y) minus S) divided by Z = # of powerheads
Maybe the multiplier differs if you are doing a FOWLR or plan on having an SPS or LPS tank but I’m trying to get in the ballpark and there are so many widely differing opinions.
In addition to a mathematical approach, I’ve read in some journals that you can measure flow rates by timing how long it takes a piece of food to travel a certain distance across your tank. I could not see how to turn that into a number of powerheads since poowerheads are not rated in flow rates.
