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 State of the Tank: (cont.) |
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 Well? Can you see the difference? The Tunzes I mean. We'll get to the corals and fish in a little bit. But first, I want to run down all of the equipment additions I've made this past month, beginning with the pair of Tunze 6100s since they're the most visible. As of this writing (9/20), I've had them going for about two weeks and I have to say the people were right; in a tank this size, they really don't detract too much. Now, whether the added flow they produce (over 3000g an hour each) will really help things is a different matter. I mean, Tunze does make a 6200, which moves over 5000g an hour but I believe they are even larger and I wasn't prepared to go there yet.
Actually, the two pumps pictured are a part of a Tunze 6100 Stream Kit, which also includes the Multicontroller 7095. I can't even begin to describe how cool this thing is. First of all, it can control up to 4 Tunze pumps (which I was really pushed hard to go with but, again, slow and steady wins the race, especially where reefkeeping and changes to asthetics are concerned). And just what does it control? Flow rates. As some of you know, one of the biggest problems with powerheads is that they can only produce laminar or continual flow from just one direction. On the natural reef, currents can vary with the tides, the weather, and even with the relationship of the sun and moon. They are anything but constant. |
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This is why we are usually advised to point glass. That way, the flow will be deflected and more random or 'chaotic' as is found in nature. Well, Tunze took this concept a little further. They've built their Multicontrollers with several programmable options so the flow rates from each pump may be synchronized to produce an infinite variety of chaos depending on how many pumps are in use and where in the tank they are placed. They can mimic the ebb and flow of the tides, they can mimic the action of waves, or they can do what I have mine doing: simply switch back and forth at a ratio of 30% to 100% (of full power) for about 30 seconds at a time. You can set your time for any length you want, from something like 6 seconds to 12 hours. And when mine are placed between my 'wavemaker' nozzles, which already alternate at 20 seconds each, the chaos created is nothing short of amazing. Now the flow hits the corals from just about every conceivable angle and even the velocity of the flow is varied as the currents in the tank crash and wrestle each other for dominance. Were I not still trying to keep my Frogspawns happy, I could easily see myself soon adding a couple more Tunzes on the back of the tank for even more cross current! Or maybe FOUR! Or maybe I'll just forgo the Tunzes and see if Evenrude or Mercury makes twin outboards that come with a Multicontroller!
Then again, maybe I should wait and see if the two pumps I already have will make any difference first...and perhaps lay off the coffee when I write these things. |
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