Quote:
Originally Posted by ScubaSteve
You'll get different answers but the best answer is: It depends. It depends on how your rock work is shaped, what kind of flow your corals like, and so on and so on...
There are several "flow pattern designs" that can be employed in a tank (you can google them). Biocubes are awesome for Gyre-style flow patterns where the flow is made to essentially make a whirlpool in your tank; you achieve this by pointing the powerheads down one side of the tank. This lets you get huge water flows with small pumps and very little energy; however, it only works well if your rocks aren't right tight to the back wall as some water needs to get through to get the "whirlpool" going or if the front is fairly open with enough space to form a gyre.
I personally place my powerheads on the back wall down low and point them up to the surface. This way you move low-oxygen water to the surface instead of just pushing high-oxygen water to the bottom; this is a better way to avoid low oxygen zones down low. With the powerhead facing up you also get better surface agitation, which gives better gas exchange. In my tank I have a Hydor K2 pointed up at the surface from down low. This gives AWESOME flow (I have all SPS) that is turbulent and creates great currents down low. It also creates a standing wave on the surface for great gas exchange. I just made this change recently (1 month) and everything is responding positively.
What kind of corals are you keeping? How are the arranged on the rock work? Post a pic!
All I could really tell you at this point is to not take any "rules of thumb" in this hobby and do what works for you. Experiment with the flow in your tank and give the tank a few minutes to establish the flow pattern and see how polyps are moving... watch the plankton and debris in your water column to get an idea of flowpaths and velocities. Gotta feel the zen of your tank. Let it tell you what works.
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Good advice. Here is a pic of my tank to give you a better idea of the rock work.
As you can see from the pic, there is a mix of corals. The SPS on the sand is growing like crazy, as is the monti. The low light corals, like mushrooms, aren't growing much anymore, although I assume they have just run out of space.