quastion about return water flow direction/rate...

[Shep]

hi,
I am (as I find time) preparing 2 foam background walls for a 54 gallon corner tank. the first wall is done, a couple of small 1" pvc pipes laid on egg crate, covered with Great Stuff and then covered with epoxy and reef sand. the second wall is now foamed. I have another piece of PVC for the fish's to hide out in, and it also covers my overflow box and my return line. the return line comes out nearly centered (horizontaly and vertically) on this wall. it is simply a 3/4" piece of PVC that my flexible return line will fit snugly into, and it has a 90 degree bend on the bottom shooting the return water straight thru the middle of the tank. I have now begun to wonder if that will be too much current shooting thru the middle of my tank, leaving the fish with not much area if they want to get out of the curent. I have a Quiet One 2200, which should turn the tank over about 4 or 5 times per hour. I am now considering putting a 45 degree bend on the return line to limit the current to half of the tank so there is more area without such strong current.

any thoughts ? 

[Boonjob]

You can always add a spray bar(longer pvc tube with holes drilled in it), or spray nozzles to split the main current off in different less powerful directions... I don't think 4-5 times an hour would be a huge amount of flow in one particular direction on a 54gal tank(thats only about 270gph) You may even want to up that return line to get that number atleast as close to 10 as possible IMO(if not higher)

[Shep]

thanks Cody...

I chose the plumbing and pump based on a 54 gallon corner that Joel set up and great success with...