Definitions of some terms!

[mrhasan]

Hello everyone,

Since I am a newby to this hobby, the following terms have confused me to an extreme stance:

1. Low, moderate and strong lighting
2. Low, moderate and strong flow
3. Slow, moderate and fast growers

These terms are of uttermost importance (according to me) for any new reefers to know since the success and failure of keeping corals will depend upon the lighting and flow (growth rate being a personal choice) beside keeping the correct water quality about which there are lots of references. But I have been unsuccessful about getting to know about what is considered to be low, moderate, strong lighting/flow.

Below is the image of my tank:



Lighting:
Its a 20 long with a coralife 30" T5HO fixture (total 62W). The height of this tank is 12". So I am confused which levels to consider as high, medium and low lighting locations? There are caves at the back of the LR too.

Flow:
I am using a maxijet 400 on the left (120gph) and a koralia nano (240gph) on the right. Given the dimension of my tank, which probable positions can be considered as strong, medium and low flow. I can't deduce it since I don't know whether the flow adjacent to the PH are considered to be strong flow or something like within 10cm from the PH is considered to be strong flow.

Growth:
I am also confused about the "relative" term of growth rate. Like are fast growers are like spreads/splits in several weeks or several months? Maybe knowing one relative term will explain the other two.

Sorry for such a big post but I really need to know about these terms so that I can properly place the corals that I will be getting with time.
Thanks in advance

[lpsreefer]

For growth rates it's also based on type of corals. Mushrooms and zoas/palys grow/spilt in weeks.
Soft corals growth is moderate. For most cases.

For lps there is a lot of different types
Some grow big and some split but there is more to growth rates then just light and flow.
Water conditions is a key factor.
For sps there are slow growers that grow maybe an inch or two every couple of monthes
For fast growers like montis or digis they grow well over an inch every month.

If your asking question about your tank then that's a whole different question

Your lighting if fine but keep in mind with t5s you'll have to change the bulbs every 6-10 monthes.
Your flow is good. If you want to do a little test to see how strong your flow is in parts of your tank. Use a couple pieces of fishing line (about 3 to 4 inches) and tie it to a tooth pick. If the line is parallel ten strong flow as the line sinks weaker the flow.
I hope this helps you.

[mrhasan]

Thanks for the awesome reply

So can my lighting sustain some sps? And as you can see, I have placed my mushroom rock on the substrate at the middle of the tank, will that be alright for them?

I am a bit confused about the experiment that you have asked me to do. Can you please explain it in a bit easier way if possible?

[JCharles]

So for the toothpick thing, imagine you've turned all your flow off and are dangling a toothpick on a piece of wire in your tank. It will be straight up and down, dead vertical. Call that a 0 or 1, no flow.

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Now if you blast a powerhead right at the toothpick, it is going to be dead horizontal. Call that a 10, or max flow.

_________

If you're holding the fishing wire, you can move the toothpick around the tank with your flow on and observe how diagonal it is. You only have 90 degrees of movement between fully horizontal and fully vertical, so 45 degrees would be a 5 on the scale or 'moderate' flow.
\
.\
..\ This would be a 3, ignore the dots.
...\


Ive also seen flow described as a function of total tank volume. Low flow being 40-50x your volume and very high flow being 100x (please check those numbers before doing anything, I'm not 100%). So you would want to add up the gallons per hour of your return pump plus any powerheads you have, then divide it by your total volume.

[JCharles]

Also, if you use a turkey baster on your rocks and blast the detritus into the water column, it will let you 'study' your flow a lot easier since you'll be able to see the detritus moving in the water and you can redirect powerheads accordingly.

[Skimmerking]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

Hello everyone,

Since I am a newby to this hobby, the following terms have confused me to an extreme stance:

1. Low, moderate and strong lighting
2. Low, moderate and strong flow
3. Slow, moderate and fast growers

These terms are of uttermost importance (according to me) for any new reefers to know since the success and failure of keeping corals will depend upon the lighting and flow (growth rate being a personal choice) beside keeping the correct water quality about which there are lots of references. But I have been unsuccessful about getting to know about what is considered to be low, moderate, strong lighting/flow.

Below is the image of my tank:



Lighting:
Its a 20 long with a coralife 30" T5HO fixture (total 62W). The height of this tank is 12". So I am confused which levels to consider as high, medium and low lighting locations? There are caves at the back of the LR too.

Flow:
I am using a maxijet 400 on the left (120gph) and a koralia nano (240gph) on the right. Given the dimension of my tank, which probable positions can be considered as strong, medium and low flow. I can't deduce it since I don't know whether the flow adjacent to the PH are considered to be strong flow or something like within 10cm from the PH is considered to be strong flow.

Growth:
I am also confused about the "relative" term of growth rate. Like are fast growers are like spreads/splits in several weeks or several months? Maybe knowing one relative term will explain the other two.

Sorry for such a big post but I really need to know about these terms so that I can properly place the corals that I will be getting with time.
Thanks in advance

Never ask for forgiveness WRT asking questions.
!first thing buds is take off the suction cups from the maxi jet powerhead. that will become your worst nightmare.

yes I have a RSM 250 with all T-5 lighting with some nice sps growing really good and i have them middle of the tank for SPS starting out you won't need super mega flow, however as you get the corals growing you will need mega flow, or better directional flow.

Rememeber with shallow tanks like yours the T-5's will grow SPS no problem.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by JCharles

So for the toothpick thing, imagine you've turned all your flow off and are dangling a toothpick on a piece of wire in your tank. It will be straight up and down, dead vertical. Call that a 0 or 1, no flow.

|
|
|
|


Now if you blast a powerhead right at the toothpick, it is going to be dead horizontal. Call that a 10, or max flow.

_________

If you're holding the fishing wire, you can move the toothpick around the tank with your flow on and observe how diagonal it is. You only have 90 degrees of movement between fully horizontal and fully vertical, so 45 degrees would be a 5 on the scale or 'moderate' flow.
\
.\
..\ This would be a 3, ignore the dots.
...\


Ive also seen flow described as a function of total tank volume. Low flow being 40-50x your volume and very high flow being 100x (please check those numbers before doing anything, I'm not 100%). So you would want to add up the gallons per hour of your return pump plus any powerheads you have, then divide it by your total volume.

Thanks for the illustration and the help too

!first thing buds is take off the suction cups from the maxi jet powerhead. that will become your worst nightmare.

What is wrong with the suction cups? I guess you are pointing out they they might come off any time. And without the suction cups, how can I attach the PH?

[lpsreefer]

My suction cups come off every week. Big pain!