flow rate

[andycook]

When one reads that a coral should be kept in "moderate flow,"is that how often the total volume of water in a tank is turned over or is that in GPH on your pump? What exactly is considered "moderate flow"?

[fishsuse29]

Moderate flow is when the polyps on the coral are being blown some of the time but it is not constant it. It is more of a judgment thing than an actual number of GPH. What coral where you thinking of?

[andycook]

Right now I am keeping what appeals to me with nothing in particular sought out and nothing in particular excluded. That is as long as the system, water parameters, and neighbors can support the corals.

The actual reason behind the question is that I'm changing the plumbing on my system. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. I'm trying to apply the information in Escobal's "Aquatic Systems Engineering: Devices and How They Function" to the plumbing on my tank. I'm looking to optimize the flow through the skimmer and wanted to maintain an average (moderate) flow in the tank. Prior to any re-plumbing, I have now what I would call a moderate flow and none of the corals appear adversely affected by the flow rate.

The bottom line is that I want to get a flow meter and be able to say that my estimation of "moderate" is/is not close to an accepted definition of moderate.