Fluid management in surgical procedures. At least some of the example embodiments are methods including: pumping surgical fluid through a tube to a surgical site by a fluid controller operating in a first mode, the first mode comprising a first relationship of fluid flow and pressure drop across the tube and cannula, and the first mode comprising a first set of proportional, integral, and differential (PID) parameters; and then pumping surgical fluid through the tube to the surgical site with the fluid controller operating in a second mode, the second mode comprising a second relationship of fluid flow and pressure drop across the tube and cannula, the second relationship different than the first relationship, and the second mode comprising a second set of PID parameters used, the second set of PID parameters different than the first set of PID parameters.