Night mode/ reduced flow, good idea?

[dan223]

Has anyone gone from full flow 24/7 to using a night mode or running half power at night and noticed positive or negative results? I asked this before and some people said they used it but noone really could say if they noticed a difference. Even if there is more plankton out at night higher flow would just push them into waiting polyps faster right? Also the corals still need nutrient import export at night so that leads me to think we still want high flow at night.

 

[Grant W]

I like to use the night mode setting on my vertec as it mimicks, IMO, the lesser flow of the ocean at night and gives all of my corals and fish a rest from the 40-50x flow rate of the daytime settings. Just my opinion but it works for me.

 

[glennr1978]

The ocean doesn't stop moving at night...

 

[Felixc395]

The ocean doesn't stop moving at night...

True, but it certainly slows down some. While we are trying to replicate nature, there is really only so much we can do.

It might be nice to slow down current to relax during the night, and increase feeding. Just as long as the flow isn't extremely reduced, or else there could be food/waste exchange problems and you will have some very unhappy corals!

 

[Brian Chong]

Corals need rest? fish dont sleep in live rock at night? I didnt know this. my corals show longer polyp extension at night and i keep the flow constant 24/7. not 100% positive longer polyps means happier corals though

 

[barjam]

I don't think it matters one way or the other. Even a relatively "calm" night time ocean would laugh out our measly 50-100 times turnover in our tanks.

 

[Acrotrdco]

The ocean doesn't stop moving at night...

Exactly.

True, but it certainly slows down some. While we are trying to replicate nature, there is really only so much we can do.

It might be nice to slow down current to relax during the night, and increase feeding. Just as long as the flow isn't extremely reduced, or else there could be food/waste exchange problems and you will have some very unhappy corals!

Who said that? The ocean does not slow down some at night, tides are affected by the lunar cycle and they keep coming and going following the same cycle, so there is absolutely no change in water current during day time or night time, the sea surface may look calmer at night, but underwater it's the same day or night.

We human tend to have a day / night time cycle, but we cannot enforce that cycle to the living beings of another realm.

Corals need rest? fish dont sleep in live rock at night? I didnt know this. my corals show longer polyp extension at night and i keep the flow constant 24/7. not 100% positive longer polyps means happier corals though

Corals DEPENDS on water current at night time for feeding in the ocean, you may not be feeding every night but in nature they're used to having good current at night.

I've been running full speed on my 2x MP10wES running Reef Crest during night time, my fishes are all doing well and this is the kind of PE I'm getting at night.

I don't think it matters one way or the other. Even a relatively "calm" night time ocean would laugh out our measly 50-100 times turnover in our tanks.

Exactly.

 

[Allmost]

this is what I think :

SPS show longer PE at night, since lower PH, as we all know the polyps of SPS work as their gill as well, so increased surface area = more gas exchange, why do they extend it at night ? cause of lower PH ... (it could also be due to lack of intensive lighting ! or even cause they are used to planktons surfacing at nights and catching them, who knows. so I can very well be wrong)

so lowering the flow at night cant be good for SPS. IMO

 

[Brian Chong]

The verdict is in. set it full blast on reefcrest mode and never look back

 

[joker295]

i get the same pe as Acrotrdco from my sps with the pumps in night mode

 

[Atomikk]

i get the same pe as Acrotrdco from my sps with the pumps in night mode

Polyp extension has nothing to do with flow at night. Polyps extend at night whether it is calm or turbulent. And another thing, polyps do not extend at night because of low pH. They extend to feed.

In reality, you should keep your powerheads on full blast all the time. This night mode thing doesn't help with the fact that more organisms respire at night than they do during the day. If you deplete your tank from oxygen at night.. guess what, your fish will suffocate and die.


Full blast.

 

[joker295]

Polyp extension has nothing to do with flow at night. Polyps extend at night whether it is calm or turbulent. And another thing, polyps do not extend at night because of low pH. They extend to feed.

In reality, you should keep your powerheads on full blast all the time. This night mode thing doesn't help with the fact that more organisms respire at night than they do during the day. If you deplete your tank from oxygen at night.. guess what, your fish will suffocate and die.


Full blast.

thats good to know..

 

[Acrotrdco]

Full blast away!

 

[Allmost]

And another thing, polyps do not extend at night because of low pH. They extend to feed.

hey, not disagreeing, but do you have any science showing that ? cause from my research, we do not know which it is! so not sure how you can be so sure about it

polyps do act like SPS's gill, so less oxygen = need to increase surface area of polyps to be able to take in more .... do you see the same PE when feeding the tank ? ! I dont.

 

[rivoth]

We do know that a whole lot of benthic plankton rises into the water column at night, making night time the best feeding time for corals as far as food density goes. So if they aren't extending at night in order to feed, then they are wasting prime feeding time.

 

[allsps40]

I have one K2 power head that is turned on and off with my lights to make a clammerish night flow. I have ran full blast 24/7 and night mode and never really saw any difference. It is more for my fish to have some slower flow at night to rest.

 

[evsalty]

hey, not disagreeing, but do you have any science showing that ? cause from my research, we do not know which it is! so not sure how you can be so sure about it

polyps do act like SPS's gill, so less oxygen = need to increase surface area of polyps to be able to take in more .... do you see the same PE when feeding the tank ? ! I dont.

This is an interesting thought but it makes me wonder if the PH drops in the ocean at night? I would have to think that the answer is NO since there is so much water exchange over the reef via outside (the reef) water. Also people that run reverse cycle fuges do not see all that much PH swing and I would feel pretty safe to bet that they too can and do expirience this much polyp extension.

 

[allsps40]

^ yep that is why we run fuges on a reverse cyle or 24/7 to reduce the PH drop because the ocean is ultra stable day and night with every thing.

 

[JasonD]

I put it in night mode because it feels right

 

[glennr1978]

Just a thought here...... but do you think that in addition to PE being better at night because of coral feeding that it may also be because there are less polyp eating predators (fish) at night than there are during the day? Kinda makes sense to me, kinda like how many animals are nocternal to avoid being eaten.