packing with corals?

[kona]

This is kind of a strange/silly question, but I really wanted to know....
I have a 10 gallon tank with fish and coral. The way it's set up, the top 4 inches of the tank are completely empty. This way, when I do water changes, nothing is exposed to the air when the water is siphoned out.
What if I want to have corals to extend above that marker? How do I do water changes without exposing the corals to the air? When I go to the fish store, there are always nanocubes that are completely jammed with corals, which reach 1 inch from the top - how do they do water changes?

 

[ricks280]

kona

, use two hoses ,one to drain at the bottom and another at the top to fill.

(rick)

 

[sweetdawn]

i think you should get a thirty gallon tank and move everything over and then it will take you a long time to get back to the point where you need to worry about this question ***)
if not rick suggestion sounds good would you use a clip or something to hold them in place cause we only got to hands people

 

[sweetdawn]

oh and i like your dog :joy:

 

[ricks280]

me 2 your dog its cute!

 

[ags]

with the exception of SPS, which never get exposed in my tank, none of my corals show any adverse effects from briefly being exposed to air. I would not let them stay out for an extended period of time, 15 minutes or more, but brief exposure, in my experience, has not caused any detrimental effects.

 

[birdy]

have you ever seen a coral reef at low tide??
Don't worry about your corals being out of the air for the brief time they would be exposed, turn your lights off if you are concerned.
as long as sponges are not exposed everything should be fine.