Slowing down flow at night- does anyone do it? If so, do you notice any differences in growth?

[kennedpa]

Better. They'll find places to sleep with the current they want. Look up articles by Mike Paletta and I'll see if I can find it. They did necropsies on fish and noted those from lower flow tanks had fatty liver disease (unhealthy) while those from high flow tanks did not.

21:30 fish liver talk.

 

[eel]

I have random flow patterns created by 2 MP40s. Between 2AM-3AM I change from a synced reefcrest mode to an anti-synced nutrient export mode. Between 3AM-4AM (peaking at 3:30AM) I ramp up my Vectra M1 return punp from 57% to 80%. My thinking is that the MP40s stir up anything that isn't already suspended in the water column and then the M1 fulshes anything stirred-up into my filter socks. I do this at night for 2 reasons. My corals feed mostly at night, naturally, as seen in their polyp extension, and I want the water to be clearer during the daylight hours when viewing the tank. All of that said, at no time is there "low-flow" in my tank. My fish mostly sleep in the rockwork and don't seem to be suffering in anyway. I have been doing this for a couple of years and it seems to be working fine. We are all doing our best to create flow comparable to the ocean, but anyone that has done any diving knows that the power of the ocean cannot possibly be created in a box. If we really moved that much water, all of the water in our tanks would go flying across the room. Just my 2 cents.

 

[abinder]

I have random flow patterns created by 2 MP40s. Between 2AM-3AM I change from a synced reefcrest mode to an anti-synced nutrient export mode. Between 3AM-4AM (peaking at 3:30AM) I ramp up my Vectra M1 return punp from 57% to 80%. My thinking is that the MP40s stir up anything that isn't already suspended in the water column and then the M1 fulshes anything stirred-up into my filter socks. I do this at night for 2 reasons. My corals feed mostly at night, naturally, as seen in their polyp extension, and I want the water to be clearer during the daylight hours when viewing the tank. All of that said, at no time is there "low-flow" in my tank. My fish mostly sleep in the rockwork and don't seem to be suffering in anyway. I have been doing this for a couple of years and it seems to be working fine. We are all doing our best to create flow comparable to the ocean, but anyone that has done any diving knows that the power of the ocean cannot possibly be created in a box. If we really moved that much water, all of the water in our tanks would go flying across the room. Just my 2 cents.

Do you run a closed loop system with your M1, or do you just let an emergency overflow handle the added flow ?

If I was to vary the flow of my Vectra, my sump would quickly start to be low with water and my Vectra would start sucking air.

(Just curious how you're doing it.)

Allen

 

[eel]

I do NOT run a closed loop. My overflow can handle the increased flow. The level in my sump does go down bit, but not enough for the pump to suck air. I have my apex turn my ato off for the hour that my M1 ramps up. That way it doesn't top off my tank when the level drops in the sump. Make sure you calibrate your Vectra to avoid the possibility of an overflow.