Should we SLOW our FLOW at night time in our reef tanks? Are you?

[ying yang]

This thread got Me thinking about a video I watched a while back about bulges in earth and earth spinning and according to this scientist ,its just easier to say tide comes in and out .
So thought I share this video for others who really getting into this thread.

My vote on whether ir not I turn flow down or not is quite simply no ^_^

 

[Shevlin77]

As a scuba diver with over 4000 hours underwater, Close to 25% of those at night, I can honestly tell you I never noticed any measurable difference of conditions at night.

A great data point from real experience. That’s awesome. Jealous! But I’m curious are your night dives in open deep water 40-50+ feet deep or on shallow reefs?

Most of the guys that I know that do night dives are in deeper water a bit offshore. I would think conditions to be the same in deep water regardless of what’s happening on the surface but not on shallow reefs.

 

[Gatorpa]

I think the flow in the Ocean is actually the same at night????

But I always have, but now that I think about it, maybe that was pointless lol.

It varies based on tides, weather, moon phases.
Ive dove for decades the same spot can varies so much day to day

 

[Gatorpa]

Waves get stronger at night since the distance between the Earth and moon decreases and gravitational force increases.

I don’t think that quite accurate .

 

[Gatorpa]

Research shows the ocean actually moves more violently at night. The reason why waves move more during the day is because there is more human activity on the ocean during the day. But naturally at night the ocean moves with stronger force.

Sorry I’ll disagree here. Costal areas are usually calmer wind wise at night. thus there are less and smaller wind driven waves at night.
During the day most days there are sea breezes are driven by heating over the near shore land.
The wind usually lays down in the morning and evening that’s why the surf often is better (glassy) in the morning or evening
This is based on my living on the beach for 50 years.

 

[Gatorpa]

Nearshore wind-driven waves typically peak in the afternoon and reduce at night due to reduced seabreeze from a breakdown of the thermal gradient between land and sea that develops as the land heats up during the day while the air temp above the ocean changes little. Tidal flow is primarily the result of moon phase and thus is not related to the time of day (i.e. you can have strong tidal flow at night or during the day).
The argument for reducing flow in a reef tank at night is that it would make it easier for corals to catch food when feeding polyps are extended. That said, I've not noticed any discernable difference in my reef tank tanks in terms of coral health/growth by reducing pump velocity at night. If you are someone who broadcast feeds corals, putting pumps in 'feed mode' for a few mins is more than sufficient.

 

[Rmckoy]

WOAH, slow your flow there partner!

There is the idea that ocean currents are more calm and night and so lower flow at night in our reef tanks better simulates the natural habit of corals. Does it matter for all of our corals and livestock or just the shallow water corals? Are you buying it?

Do you think you should lower the flow in your reef aquarium at night time?

Great question .

I had a old jeabo pump I believe it was the wp40
It had a night sensor that cut the power at night .
Does the ocean cut flow after dark ?
What’s the idea behind reducing flow ?

 

[doubleshot00]

I don’t think anyone in this thread knows what there talking about Carry on

 

[Gatorpa]

Most coral close up at night regardless of flow so if they are out and happy during the day, flow wouldn’t affect them at night. If I made any changes to flow at night, I would turn the flow up to kick up any detritus for better filtration and back down just before the lights come back on.

I’d say it varies. My LpS and softies do that but many of my SPS have massive polyp extension at night

 

[Gatorpa]

Gravity is 0.12% stronger at night.

I need a link to this please.

 

[Gatorpa]

Oh, of course, I spend every day looking at the swell and tide and the waves they will produce, because I like to ride them

The problem in the context of this thread is that it (tide) isn’t related to day/night.

Also, if there is no source of waves, and the ocean is calm, tide will not matter much. I wish it did, as it would make surfing much more consistent, but tides themselves don’t create waves. If the ocean is flat… it’s flat.

I’ll agree with you in principle however have you ever had to traverse an inlet or narrow reef pass when there is an tide change, it will cause the waves in that area to kick up more. Granted this is a very specific instance.

 

[Gatorpa]

Anyone who makes a living on the ocean knows the worst seas always come at night. But that is in open water. On a nice beach close to land in tropical paradise by a reef it always seems calmer at night. This is due to the heating and cooling of the land. Thats why you get a sea breeze in the afternoon and seems calmer at night

Sorry man I’ve been 40 miles offshore at night and it can be slick calm.

Surface winds are generally more near shore during the day. Certainly as you move further offshore seas can be higher all dependent on swell direction, fetch, and water depth.

 

[PeterC99]

After reading 5 pages of posts on this topic, Im unable to draw any concrete conclusions. Is there anyway the moderators can pre-warn their readers about threads like these?

WARNING - MANY CONFLICTING VIEWS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

 

[RJL]

It’s been a very long time since I studied this stuff, but if I recall correctly, waves are only made, or not made by atmospheric pressures increasing or decreasing…like placing the palm of your hand on the surface an gently pressing down makes ripples emanate from it, or less frequently by earth movement (earthquakes). In fact, waves, in spite of their appearance, especially near the shore, ONLY move the water straight up and down. This is fascinating to think about. Ever notice that floating objects often move out when the waves appear to be moving the water in toward the shore? Wave is derived from ‘shock-wave’ which is in fact what ocean waves are!
That said, the ocean is very often calmer at night because the atmosphere cools and the sun isn’t trying to violently heat it any longer. Not always, but most often, calmer at night.

 

[Nemosis]

After reading 5 pages of posts on this topic, Im unable to draw any concrete conclusions. Is there anyway the moderators can pre-warn their readers about threads like these?

WARNING - MANY CONFLICTING VIEWS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN

After reading 5 pages of posts on this topic, Im unable to draw any concrete conclusions. Is there anyway the moderators can pre-warn their readers about threads like these?

WARNING - MANY CONFLICTING VIEWS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Conflicting views for sure! No two tanks are the same, no two reefs are the same. Different strokes for different folks. What works for one tank may not work for the next. Keeping our inhabitants alive will be the only subject we will 100% agree on. But what bothers me with a post that is purely opinion, is that some expect others to accept their opinion as the rule when there are many reefing success stories that contradict their beliefs.

 

[reefinatl]

Learned some fun stuff tonight. I'm only weighing myself at morning so I can be 0.12% lighter now. Don't forget the centripetal force from the moon spinning causing most of the wind too.

 

[IamChrismWard]

A great data point from real experience. That’s awesome. Jealous! But I’m curious are your night dives in open deep water 40-50+ feet deep or on shallow reefs?

Most of the guys that I know that do night dives are in deeper water a bit offshore. I would think conditions to be the same in deep water regardless of what’s happening on the surface but not on shallow

A great data point from real experience. That’s awesome. Jealous! But I’m curious are your night dives in open deep water 40-50+ feet deep or on shallow reefs?

Most of the guys that I know that do night dives are in deeper water a bit offshore. I would think conditions to be the same in deep water regardless of what’s happening on the surface but not on shallow reefs.

Mix of both, most were shore dives so even on deep dives time was spent in shallow water for part of the dive. I prefer to just pick a spot and hang out, you see alot more if you are stationary.

 

[reefinatl]

Seriously. Sounds like a lot of people here need to go back and take a middle school science class. Kinda has me questioning whether the advice I get on here is of the same caliber.

Friendly advice from a 15 year long reefer, find one person with a tank that's established and you like. Replicate their methodology. Once you are cruising, only then play with different methods and ideas to expand your knowledge. This hobby has high failure rates and newbs with big mouths because they kept a stick alive for a couple months are always plentiful.

 

[Gatorpa]

It’s been a very long time since I studied this stuff, but if I recall correctly, waves are only made, or not made by atmospheric pressures increasing or decreasing…like placing the palm of your hand on the surface an gently pressing down makes ripples emanate from it, or less frequently by earth movement (earthquakes). In fact, waves, in spite of their appearance, especially near the shore, ONLY move the water straight up and down. This is fascinating to think about. Ever notice that floating objects often move out when the waves appear to be moving the water in toward the shore? Wave is derived from ‘shock-wave’ which is in fact what ocean waves are!
That said, the ocean is very often calmer at night because the atmosphere cools and the sun isn’t trying to violently heat it any longer. Not always, but most often, calmer at night.

Surfaces waves are almost always due to wind(it’s is due to atmospheric pressure gradients as you explain. One exception is due to and earth which will produce very small but very long period waves(tsunami) also rare but will happen is when a portion of a land mass slides off into the water.

Some here have confused tides with waves. Certainly in near shore waters where some reefs exists tidal flow will have effects on the reef and tidal flow in combo with wind driven waves can have an additive effect.

I‘ve lived on the beach my whole life, I surf, I dive, I fish offshore and near shore. Mostly the ocean is calmer at night due to the reasons listed by many here.

To the op, it likely doesn’t matter too much and is personal preference, the ocean isn’t a static environment if you really want to emulate the ocean for your tank then variable conditions would serve best. Sometime more flow during the day sometimes at night.

I tend to run decent flow at night but that’s because I’m trying to increase CO2 removal when the lights are off and there is less photosynthesis going on.

I don’t really dose phytoplankton much but if i did it would be later a night as that’s when I see the most polyp extension from the majority of my LPS and SPS.

 

[ectoaesthetics]

Love the idea. My display is <5 gallons sooo my mp10 is already nearly at the bottom setting. Lol