24/7 flow - who does different flow at night and how do you do it?

[BanjoBandito]

I'd like to figure a way to control my DC pump to act differently at night, does anyone use different flows during the day and how are you controlling/programming it?

 

[carmodpg]

I’ve never changed the speed of my actual return pump. My MPs are scheduled to change throughout the day. Some people lower their flow at night.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Does the flow in the ocean change at night?

 

[BanjoBandito]

Does the flow in the ocean change at night?

Wind is usually calmer at night leading to less wave action/turbulence at the surface, but I'm not sure about currents/tide activity though.

 

[BanjoBandito]

Does the flow in the ocean change at night?

...are you asking me like my dad asks me questions? Like - "That's a stupid idea, don't do it" kinda stuff? lol.

 

[vtecintegra]

I slow the flow on my MP40s at night.

 

[tehmadreefer]

...are you asking me like my dad asks me questions? Like - "That's a stupid idea, don't do it" kinda stuff? lol.

Lol mmhmm

 

[Wolters_88]

My flow goes down to 1% at night.

 

[Oldsman]

I drop my Nero 3 about 10 percent after lights out . Sometime thru the night its programed for a 30 minute burst to help clear detritus then settle back down. Just something I added

 

[Screwgunner]

My wave maker has a light sensor so in the day time I have a 1.5 inch wave going back and forth at night the pump goes to slow with no pulse.

 

[CMMorgan]

I drop the flow on my wavemakers, not my return pump. Same logic as above ... less wind, less waves... seemed more natural to give the fish an easier time to find shelter and sleep. I also switch the flow from constant to tidal.

 

[Screwgunner]

Uniclife they have 3 sizes

 

[LadyMac]

I have the Current USA system. The wave makers have a night mode which slows them down a little at night time.

 

[Screwgunner]

I run a 3400 gph and two hydors on the bottom right and the wave maker middle left pointing up that is the 3400 hydor one on one off 15 min intervals

 

[Hypnotoad]

Before any more people chime in with “does the flow of the ocean…”

the answer is YES.

The flow in the ocean changes all the time, and for the life of me, I cannot understand why people assume it doesn’t.

2 years ago I was in Rangiroa French Polynesia, staying at a little inn on the rocky shore at the edge of a lagoon. There were many colonies of Porites and Acropora.

Over the course of the day the water level and movement changed to the extent that the corals went from sitting in almost perfectly still water to being battered by waves and spending half their time out of the water.

The zone we dove was a pass between the ocean and lagoon side. Some days the current ran from the ocean into lagoon, some days it ran the other way, and some days, it did both at different times.

Sometimes the current was gentle, and sometimes it was so strong that it was physically difficult to hold onto a rock to stay put for a momentary observation.

So yes, the flow in the ocean changes, lots, especially in shallow areas.

 

[rusty hannon]

I'd like to figure a way to control my DC pump to act differently at night, does anyone use different flows during the day and how are you controlling/programming it?

Yes , my wife and I both have Rossmount circulation pumps w the controllers but hers is set to run higher in day than night w a slow ramp up n down and hers grabbed mine so both tanks do it.

 

[guylaga]

Return pump stays the same 24/7.

Two Icecap 4k Gyres run on opposite Sine wave mode so that one ramps up as the other ramps down in the span of a minute from 0% to 70% from 2200 to 0600 each night in my tank.

 

[Gqch]

My jebao DC pump has night mode, so yeah the flow in my tank was different day and night, stronger pulsating mode at daytime and weak flat flow at night. Mp 40 is good pump but they don't have night mode besides extra controller unfortunately

 

[P-Dub]

I'd like to figure a way to control my DC pump to act differently at night, does anyone use different flows during the day and how are you controlling/programming it?

I do not control my return pump to change. It stays the same all the time. My wavemakers are a different story. I have my two largest Jebaos controlled via my apex and my MP40 through the Mobius app. The other Jebaos follow a random flow during the day and low constant through the dark hours controlled by the on-board controller. The current within the tank varies throughout the day and every 2 hours goes into a "Typhoon" mode as my wife likes to call it.

Regarding the question if the ocean's water movement changes at night versus the day, yes, yes it does. Wind, and as a consequence thereof, waves are generally subdued during the evening. Wind is a direct result of thermal cycling and as there is no sun in the evening to drive this cycle, it generally subsides. Storms and their effect on the reef, both locally and far off, are a different animal.
Reef currents within a pass or on the reef crest/shelf, and slope are partially influenced by wave action locally. Within a lagoon, wave action has a much less influence on currents, in general. The primary driver of reef currents is the tide and that is a result of the moon and its phases/schedule and is as regular and predictable as the tides.

The primary reason I calm my tank down in the evening is to give the fish a break while they are "sleeping", not to necessarily mimic nature, but it just so happens it does, generally...

 

[X-37B]

Changing the flow of your return pump will change the level in your sump and may affect skimmer and ato. Not recommended.
In tank all my powerheads are on random pulse. I do change 2 linked pumps to different modes every day for even more random movement in my 120 system.
My frag/lagoon system in on pulse mode with 2 powerheads. I change pump speeds up and down every week so its not always the same.