Powerheads on/off at night?
- Thread starter Grandroyale
- Start date
People tend to think the ocean is calmer at night only because the tide is high and we don't see much wave crashing from the surface. Although we may not see or hear the ocean currents the ocean is still VERY active at night. Its a bad idea to run a low flow specially at night. The process of photosynthesis within the coral's zooxanthele stops after lights are out so there is a possible build up of CO2 you want to compensate by keeping good gas exchange and the best way to do so is to keep the water turning over. Increased CO2 causes a pH drop and we want to keep our parameters constant.
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RC has had this topic argued over and over.
I thought tunze pumps slowed down at night to let the fishes sleep.
let me ask / summarize what I recall from that debate:
- isnt there more energey on the reef during the day in general bc of the sun? isnt the sun the main cause of wind, which is the main cause of waves?
- is deep current action dependent on the season?
- is tidal swelling as energetic as the above 2 forces
- do polyps extend only at night in the natural reef due to sleeping predator fish & thats when coral food come out for the same reason
- doesnt the "dark" reaction (not light requiring) part of photosynthesis occur all the time? do dissolved oxygen demands for fish and inverst change at night?
- is there anything natural about the captive reefs we assemble? isnt it all non-natural, inluding the chemistry, lighting, feeding, cohabitants, etc? We are able to train the coral to feed during the day, can we train / select for them to experience "unnatural" flows at night?
some fun reading:
2011 http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1970547
2010 http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/248493-mp10-night-mode/
2007 http://www.geog.canterbury.ac.nz/department/staff/deirdre/Brander Kench and Hart.pdf
2004 2004 http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-397989.html
I thought tunze pumps slowed down at night to let the fishes sleep.
let me ask / summarize what I recall from that debate:
- isnt there more energey on the reef during the day in general bc of the sun? isnt the sun the main cause of wind, which is the main cause of waves?
- is deep current action dependent on the season?
- is tidal swelling as energetic as the above 2 forces
- do polyps extend only at night in the natural reef due to sleeping predator fish & thats when coral food come out for the same reason
- doesnt the "dark" reaction (not light requiring) part of photosynthesis occur all the time? do dissolved oxygen demands for fish and inverst change at night?
- is there anything natural about the captive reefs we assemble? isnt it all non-natural, inluding the chemistry, lighting, feeding, cohabitants, etc? We are able to train the coral to feed during the day, can we train / select for them to experience "unnatural" flows at night?
some fun reading:
2011 http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1970547
2010 http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/248493-mp10-night-mode/
2007 http://www.geog.canterbury.ac.nz/department/staff/deirdre/Brander Kench and Hart.pdf
2004 2004 http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-397989.html
Even with powerheads turned off or down the circulation pump is still running as is the skimmer, so there's plenty of gas exchange in the entire system of water. And yes, the whole system is synthesized compared to a natural ocean reef.
The sicce controller is a fussy thing, you have to set it into night mode when you want it to repeat every 24 hours, night mode has a 8 hour duration. There have been times were it got reset and then not working so the heads alternate their normal 35-40 seconds on each powerhead, I have the 1150gph ones in a 75. They move plenty of water and the fishe and corals don't seem to mind either way, day or night. If they want a eddy they find one. It sure moves a lot of water around though. The cuc know where the eddies are and gather there to clean up. My rocks are suspended on an acrylic rod platform so water flows under them too.
The sicce controller is a fussy thing, you have to set it into night mode when you want it to repeat every 24 hours, night mode has a 8 hour duration. There have been times were it got reset and then not working so the heads alternate their normal 35-40 seconds on each powerhead, I have the 1150gph ones in a 75. They move plenty of water and the fishe and corals don't seem to mind either way, day or night. If they want a eddy they find one. It sure moves a lot of water around though. The cuc know where the eddies are and gather there to clean up. My rocks are suspended on an acrylic rod platform so water flows under them too.
