Can a tank have too much circulation (flow)?

[mal211]

Can a fish tank ever have too much flow? Aka should anyone ever be worried that they are overusing airstones, powerheads, etc.? Not as much for filtration purposes or water oxygenation but more so for circulation purposes only.

[Reefing Madness]

Tough one to answer. Strong flow is good for the fish, they get excersise with it. Softies and LPS, some like med flow some like high, so there, to much flow can get you into trouble. SPS like high flow, cna't go wrong with over doing it. Example, last month I had 8800gph flow in my 240g tank, my softies and LPS, and my LTA started getting mad, so I removed one 1200gph powerhead, all is better now. Airstones? What are you using those for? Your skimmer produces enough mix in the chamber.

[chrisfont23]

Agreed. I think the visuals are the best indicators. I would say the best things to look for are

- sand blowing around the tank
- corals that look like they are about to blow over
- fish hiding or straying from current

If that's not the case, I would say you are OK.