Hi all - got an early Xmas present of a Vortech MP40W (of course, I already want another one, it's a great pump!). Question for the experts though - what is the purpose of the "night mode"? Are reefs calmer at night? That seems somewhat strange... and counter to the fact that I always seem to hear "the more flow, the better". Any opinions? THANKS!
"Night mode" for reef pumps - why???
- Thread starter alex1977
- Start date
Muddskipper35
Non-member
Ever look at the ocean at night? Or a lake? Or ever noticed how its so much quieter outside at night? (even in the city) Same thing underwater.. Its much calmer at night even underwater..
tigerslacrosse4
Reef Addict
agreed. i also hear that those vortec pumps can be quite noisy... i think if you back off the speed at night it does not make as much noise
Interesting. While, yes - I can see the shore being calmer, I always assumed the reefs would be subject to a similar wave action night and day (the city analogy really doesn't work, lol, not too many people driving around a reef!). As for the noise, it's really barely noticeable in reef crest mode, the fan on my Belize light fixture is certainly noisier! But I do appreciate the advise - I'll set up the night mode to start at 9 when the lights go off. Thanks!
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tigerslacrosse4
Reef Addict
NeverlosT
Engineer with a reefing problem
the moon is out in the daytime too... tides are a perpetuals force...
so tides are the same, day or night, the size of a tide depends on the phase of the moon, not day or night. Wave action tends to be slightly less at night just since wind dies down at night (less thermals, less wind, less wind driven waves). That doesnt mean you cant have big waves at night, but they are largely due to swell and storms.
I turn my MP10 and MP40 right off at night, but I also used the "night mode" for a while and it works great.
tigerslacrosse4
Reef Addict
If you really wanted to have a "natural mode" you would have a calm period every 6 hours to mimic slack tide and and then ramp up the flow to peak 3 hours later, then decrease it slowly till you get to "slack tide" again. Then you could have this cycle start an hour later each day. You could even program the powerheads on each side of the tank to recreate incoming and outgoing tides.
tigerslacrosse4
Reef Addict
thats intense... KSC all out much?
