Red Sea Purple Tang
Active member
Programming the AquaSurf on the AC3 and was wondering if, in fact, the ocean gets calmer at night?
Do Ocean waves get calmer at night ??
- Thread starter Red Sea Purple Tang
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greenbean36191
Premium Member
It depends. It's common in some areas, but it's not universal. I think a more important question is whether or not our animals benefit from calmer conditions at night and the answer to that seems to be a very big no.
owenspackman
New member
why would you say no greenbean? im interested to know why as i was planning on having my pumps calm down at night.
greenbean36191
Premium Member
Because when the lights go out there is heavy respiration by all the animals and plants in the tank, but there is no photosynthesis to replenish the oxygen consumed. Oxygen levels, even in nature, drop dramatically and the water near the reef surface becomes hypoxic at night. Water motion helps to bring in oxygenated water and is especially important for animals like corals that rely on diffusion of O2 from the water column. There's actually a thin layer of water that "sticks" to the surface of the corals and becomes especially low in O2 as compared to the overlying water. This boundary layer forms a barrier to diffusion of O2 in and CO2 out of the coral, essentially suffocating it. The faster the water flow, the thinner the boundary layer. It doesn't make sense to increase the boundary layer when O2 is already at it's most limiting.
Essentially none of our animals actually sleep and those that enter some state or torpor don't need lower flow to do so.
Essentially none of our animals actually sleep and those that enter some state or torpor don't need lower flow to do so.
OCEAN SIZE
BACK REEFIN'
^^^ what he said
Also, many corals extend polyps to feed when light is lower, meaning they would prefer motion to sweep away waste and also get fresh nutrition, near as I can tell. Good question though - great, in fact, since many wavemakers offer a nighttime mode to stop the rocking and rolling.
Also, many corals extend polyps to feed when light is lower, meaning they would prefer motion to sweep away waste and also get fresh nutrition, near as I can tell. Good question though - great, in fact, since many wavemakers offer a nighttime mode to stop the rocking and rolling.
Red Sea Purple Tang
Active member
Great info guys!
owenspackman
New member
thank you!
Red Sea Purple Tang
Active member
Your welcome.
It really depends on where you are at. Most places have wind blowing from the sea towards land during the day because as the land warms up heat rises and air masses from the sea move inland to replace the vacuum. When night falls the land cools off faster and the land air masses sink pushing surface air towards the sea. If you are observing the waves from land during these times you will sea higher waves in the daylight and lower wave heights at night(not counting local weather systems), but if you are off shore by any great length then the average wave height does not change it only changes direction. I hope this is clear enough to help.
o.c.d.
New member
The tunze manual states that the photocell can be used to lower pumping power at night. Like in a reef, small animals and plankton can rise in the aquarium to take the habitat of diurnal animals.....Now what you said greenbeen makes perfect sence to me and I agree,so is this just a lame selling feature that I shouldn't be using (cause I have been) or is there something to it?
Red Sea Purple Tang
Active member
Wisconsin....sorry, couldn't resist.
MCsaxmaster
New member
Agreed with Mike above. I'll also point out that in the shallows that get a lot of circulation from wind-driven waves which may indeed calm down at night (but not as a rule by any means) the waterflow is typically much stronger than what is in anybody's tank. The surge from even modest wave action at a few meters depth is so much stonger than what is in anybody's tank. You can kick like crazy to maintain your position and it doesn't matter--you still get tossed back and forth. I've yet to see any aquarium that had waterflow so strong that I could not swim against it 
Thus, even if waterflow does become reduced at night in these places it's STILL typically as strong or stronger than what we usually provide.
Chris
Thus, even if waterflow does become reduced at night in these places it's STILL typically as strong or stronger than what we usually provide. Chris
This is an interesting question as many corals do most of their active feeding at night and the question the lower current at night may stress the corals as their wast products are not removed and o2 level drops and in response there is a very slight acidification of the water in the aquarium. as for waves decreasing at night, it all depends on location the general idea is that inshore waves do tend to flatten during the night due to off shore winds but the further you travel away from the shore the less these land based winds will affect the waves the swell is driven by wind that thousands of kilometers or miles away, out here the swell will die off as it changes direction this may a matter of hours or days.
