I'm setting up my 29-gallon nano mixed reef with softies and a few LPS, and I'm trying to decide on the placement of my top three corals - a frogspawn, a hammer, and an ORA gonipora. All the research I've done says they prefer moderate flow and medium light, but I'm having trouble figuring out which one to put where. The center spot gets the most light and flow, being right in front of the AC100 HOB fuge output.
The left side of the rock is about the same height as the center, with the rest a bit lower, and it's near the intake of the HOB, so it gets a gentle undercurrent. The right side is lower and near the skimmer input/output, so it gets very gentle flow. I was thinking of putting the gonipora on the right since I've heard it doesn't like much flow.
Does anyone know which of these corals can handle the most or least flow?
Frogspawn, hammer, and gonipora: water flow and lighting preferences
Re: Frogspawn, hammer, and gonipora: water flow and lighting preferences
My experience with a hammer coral is that it seems to thrive in low to medium flow. I've placed mine on the sand in a front corner of the tank, and it's doing great there. I have pretty high flow up top with two powerheads and another pump on low, but down low it's a lot calmer.
Re: Frogspawn, hammer, and gonipora: water flow and lighting preferences
I'd put the gonipora on the right, and I've actually got mine in the sand, seems to do well there. Frogspawn and hammers can handle a decent amount of flow, but I wouldn't say they love it. My experience is in a high flow SPS dominant tank, so might be different for you.
Re: Frogspawn, hammer, and gonipora: water flow and lighting preferences
I've found that gonipora actually prefer high lighting, but when it comes to flow, they seem to do best with low turbulent flow.