If you have SPS that are growing and holding their color than I wouldnt
mess with your current set-up. I have a 92 gal and for 2 years had the
return as the only circulation so I was moving around 700gph. My SPS
were growing but I wasnt seeing the polyp extention like other people
have had so I added a couple of pumps for an additional 1300 gph or so
of water movement.
Im not saying that this is the cause but it has been a month and I have
been battling red slime and hair algae ever since I made the change and
the SPS that were extending their polyps are not extending anymore. The
only positive affect I have seen in the last month is that more scum
must be getting to my skimmer because it is producing a lot more crud.
Right now Im still in the wait and see mode before I make any changes.
I'm hoping it is just a matter of time for things to get back in sync.

Ken






wrote:
I have a 4 year old reef tank of 150 gallons. I have had SPS corals
for approximately 1 1/2 years which have grown but sometimes not
maintained the color I desired. The SPS corals are kept in the top
12"
of the tank under a 250Watt HQI pendant. For about the past year I
have had a deep blue Acropora tortusa. It has indeed grown, and
maintained excellent deep blue coloration, probably increasing from a
single 1/2" frag to a multiple branched specimen about 3" tall. My
question is regarding the flow in the tank. Most sources recommend
high flow for SPS corals, but I have relatively low flow around my
SPS
corals. Due to the shape and arrangement of my tank, it is difficult
to position a powerhead to give flow to the tank where the SPS are.
Should I simply not mess with what appears to be working, or perhaps
my
corals would really do much better with some powerheads constantly
circulating water around them?