Going for 24 to 8 hour light cycle

matt@jsair.com · 06/20/2007, 03:12 PM

I have got about a 3 month old 30 gallon long reef tank with I think 96 watts of PC over it. All that is in the tank right now are a green chromis and a coral banded shrimp. I have about 3 zoo rocks, a big piece of rock with all kinds of mushrooms, a small frogspawn, and a single stalk frag of xenia.

I had noticed that my 4 or 5 snails were doing such a bang up job of keeping the glass clean on an 8 hour light cycle that it looked to my like they were going hungry. So I switched to an "always on" light cycle. I have noticed that not all of my zoos stayed open, my xenia pulsed slowly and was drawn in and a couple of my bigger mushrooms actually started to bleach.

I have now switched back to the 8 hour light cycle because I started noticing hair algae, now all my corals are doing much, much better. Can you guys think of any reason for this? I sure as heck can't.

sunfish11 · 06/20/2007, 03:18 PM

Sounds like you are going with an all or nothing approach. I would go with a 12-14 hour light cycle. That would be more natural. Always on would mess with the "biological clock" of most of your livestock

Bebo77 · 06/20/2007, 03:23 PM

the earth has dark and light cycles so everything living can rest... the same needs to apply yo your tank...

Phong33 · 06/20/2007, 03:37 PM

They need the dark cycle for respiration.

lvpd186 · 06/20/2007, 03:40 PM

Would the same hold true for a refugium? I have been letting mine stay on 24hrs. Would it be better to have a 12hr cycle for that as well>

Bebo77 · 06/20/2007, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lvpd186
Would the same hold true for a refugium? I have been letting mine stay on 24hrs. Would it be better to have a 12hr cycle for that as well>

give it at least 2-4 hours of darkness

Peter Eichler · 06/20/2007, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lvpd186
Would the same hold true for a refugium? I have been letting mine stay on 24hrs. Would it be better to have a 12hr cycle for that as well>

If you have Chaeto in there you need periods of darkness or the Chaeto will die eventually. I'd suggest just running it on a reverse cycle of your tank lighting.

Dubbin1 · 06/20/2007, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Peter Eichler
If you have Chaeto in there you need periods of darkness or the Chaeto will die eventually. I'd suggest just running it on a reverse cycle of your tank lighting.

I have run my fug lights 24hr a day 7 days a week for a couple years now and the cheato grows like mad.

fishyface · 06/20/2007, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Peter Eichler
If you have Chaeto in there you need periods of darkness or the Chaeto will die eventually. I'd suggest just running it on a reverse cycle of your tank lighting.

not true at all...

bassettmd · 06/20/2007, 05:32 PM

I agree with fishy face, i run my lights on my fuge 24/7 and have had absolutley no problems. I think if you have animals in the tank (fish, shrimp, etc) then you should definitely give them periods of light and dark. However, i would not see any problems with keeping the lights on 24/7 if all you were running was a coral tank.

pledosophy · 06/20/2007, 05:52 PM

Corals need to for respiration as well. This goes for all photosynthetic corals.

Macro lagaes while they do live under 24/7 a day light cycles actually grow faster and absorb more nutrients if given a rest period. A constant light cycle effects there cellular respiration and inhibits growth. If your using chaetomorpha for nutrient export your shooint yourself in the foot not giving it a dark period.

The 24/7 light cycle on refugiums goes back to when people where using other species of macro algae like green grape caulphera and prolifera. These macro's are more prone to go sexual and keepers found that if the light was always on then they would remain stable. howeer IME with both of these species of macro algaes as well as many others I found that all grow better and faster with a dark period. Typically on my refugiums I light 20/7 witht he 4 hour dark period in the middle of my displays light cycle.

Fat Man · 06/20/2007, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Phong33
They need the dark cycle for respiration.

Respiration is a 24/7 process. In photosynthetic organisms photosynthesis occurs a t a greater rate than respiration in a lighted condition. So there is a net production of oxygen and food reserves. When the lights are out photosynthesis ceases and only respiration occurs.

Lights on 24/7 may interfere with other processes but not respiration.

davidryder · 06/20/2007, 07:26 PM

I would be concerned about the corals exerting/using all that energy to stay active 24hrs/day.

lvpd186 · 06/20/2007, 07:36 PM

Interesting split in the responses. I haven't had any chaeto die off, but I haven't had a lot of heavy growth either. As for the reverse light cycle I understand that was more for keeping the ph stable. I wonder if it would effect pods? In the display tank they are non-exsistent during the day, but at night they are al over the place. Maybe I'll try turning the refug light off for at least 4hrs and see if there is a difference.

Phong33 · 06/20/2007, 08:02 PM

IME chaeto grows better with a dark peroid. Perferrable in a reverse photo peroid to keep pH stable.

davidryder · 06/20/2007, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Phong33
IME chaeto grows better with a dark peroid. Perferrable in a reverse photo peroid to keep pH stable.

Mine is on display so the reverse lighting schedule is out of the question...

Peter Eichler · 06/20/2007, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fishyface
not true at all...

I've seen it happen. Mine started to turn brown and die back dramatically when I had the lights on 24 hr. Giving the Chaeto periods of darkness fixed the problem.

sunfish11 · 06/20/2007, 09:57 PM

Mine (cheato) and everything else does better in the sump/fuge now that I run a reverse photo-period instead of a 24/7.

Lisa

davidryder · 06/21/2007, 10:51 AM

Does the ocean have a reverse photo period? What is the benefit? PH fluctuations are natural, right?

pledosophy · 06/21/2007, 12:28 PM

Well ya I guess if you think about it. part of the ocean is always in the light and part of it is always in the dark.

As the world turns the light cycle slowly changes.

The pH of the ocean is pretty stable.

RichConley · 06/21/2007, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Peter Eichler
I've seen it happen. Mine started to turn brown and die back dramatically when I had the lights on 24 hr. Giving the Chaeto periods of darkness fixed the problem.

So? Did you ever consider that you weren't producing enough nutrients to support chaeto growing 24 hours a day?

Peter Eichler · 06/22/2007, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RichConley
So? Did you ever consider that you weren't producing enough nutrients to support chaeto growing 24 hours a day?

I'm sorry, but I don't keep my tank nutrients up so my Chaeto can thrive. If that's your goal ,good for you, but if that's the case you've got things a little backwards compared to the rest of the reefing community. Have you ever considered trying to not be so argumentative with every post you make?

06/20/2007, 03:12 PM	#1
matt@jsair.com Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 11	Going for 24 to 8 hour light cycle I have got about a 3 month old 30 gallon long reef tank with I think 96 watts of PC over it. All that is in the tank right now are a green chromis and a coral banded shrimp. I have about 3 zoo rocks, a big piece of rock with all kinds of mushrooms, a small frogspawn, and a single stalk frag of xenia. I had noticed that my 4 or 5 snails were doing such a bang up job of keeping the glass clean on an 8 hour light cycle that it looked to my like they were going hungry. So I switched to an "always on" light cycle. I have noticed that not all of my zoos stayed open, my xenia pulsed slowly and was drawn in and a couple of my bigger mushrooms actually started to bleach. I have now switched back to the 8 hour light cycle because I started noticing hair algae, now all my corals are doing much, much better. Can you guys think of any reason for this? I sure as heck can't.

06/20/2007, 03:23 PM	#3
Bebo77 Premium Nonpaying Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Lost Posts: 14,377	the earth has dark and light cycles so everything living can rest... the same needs to apply yo your tank... __________________ Gabriel Current Tank Info: 300 Gal Envision Tank(98Lx30Wx26T) 120 Gal SoCalCreations Sump, Deltec TC2560, 2 LumenarcsMini 1 Reg on a light mover W Radiums 250& 400, Gallaxy ballasts, Red Dragon 10m3 return W/ 2 WavySeas, 2 6155 Tunze streams

06/20/2007, 03:40 PM	#5
lvpd186 Reefing in NE Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Papillion, NE Posts: 1,485	Would the same hold true for a refugium? I have been letting mine stay on 24hrs. Would it be better to have a 12hr cycle for that as well> __________________ "A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice." Bill Cosby

06/20/2007, 05:52 PM	#11
pledosophy Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Beaverton Posts: 5,290	Corals need to for respiration as well. This goes for all photosynthetic corals. Macro lagaes while they do live under 24/7 a day light cycles actually grow faster and absorb more nutrients if given a rest period. A constant light cycle effects there cellular respiration and inhibits growth. If your using chaetomorpha for nutrient export your shooint yourself in the foot not giving it a dark period. The 24/7 light cycle on refugiums goes back to when people where using other species of macro algae like green grape caulphera and prolifera. These macro's are more prone to go sexual and keepers found that if the light was always on then they would remain stable. howeer IME with both of these species of macro algaes as well as many others I found that all grow better and faster with a dark period. Typically on my refugiums I light 20/7 witht he 4 hour dark period in the middle of my displays light cycle. __________________ 120g mixed reef 90g QT

06/20/2007, 07:26 PM	#13
davidryder Claris or Elliot? Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Nightopia Posts: 2,750	I would be concerned about the corals exerting/using all that energy to stay active 24hrs/day. __________________ A rolling stone gathers no moss... Current Tank Info: 90g mixed reef, corner overflow (Mag 9.5), 25g refugium (Mag 5), 15g refugium, Orbit 260w pc, Pan World 50PX-X (Closed loop), AquaC EV-120 (now skimmerless)

06/20/2007, 03:18 PM	#2
sunfish11 Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Weyauwega, WI Posts: 2,365	Sounds like you are going with an all or nothing approach. I would go with a 12-14 hour light cycle. That would be more natural. Always on would mess with the "biological clock" of most of your livestock

06/20/2007, 03:37 PM	#4
Phong33 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 371	They need the dark cycle for respiration.

06/20/2007, 05:32 PM	#10
bassettmd Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NorthEast Posts: 710	I agree with fishy face, i run my lights on my fuge 24/7 and have had absolutley no problems. I think if you have animals in the tank (fish, shrimp, etc) then you should definitely give them periods of light and dark. However, i would not see any problems with keeping the lights on 24/7 if all you were running was a coral tank.

06/20/2007, 07:36 PM	#14
lvpd186 Reefing in NE Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Papillion, NE Posts: 1,485	Interesting split in the responses. I haven't had any chaeto die off, but I haven't had a lot of heavy growth either. As for the reverse light cycle I understand that was more for keeping the ph stable. I wonder if it would effect pods? In the display tank they are non-exsistent during the day, but at night they are al over the place. Maybe I'll try turning the refug light off for at least 4hrs and see if there is a difference. __________________ "A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice." Bill Cosby

06/20/2007, 08:02 PM	#15
Phong33 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 371	IME chaeto grows better with a dark peroid. Perferrable in a reverse photo peroid to keep pH stable.

06/20/2007, 09:57 PM	#18
sunfish11 Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Weyauwega, WI Posts: 2,365	Mine (cheato) and everything else does better in the sump/fuge now that I run a reverse photo-period instead of a 24/7. Lisa

06/21/2007, 10:51 AM	#19
davidryder Claris or Elliot? Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Nightopia Posts: 2,750	Does the ocean have a reverse photo period? What is the benefit? PH fluctuations are natural, right? __________________ A rolling stone gathers no moss... Current Tank Info: 90g mixed reef, corner overflow (Mag 9.5), 25g refugium (Mag 5), 15g refugium, Orbit 260w pc, Pan World 50PX-X (Closed loop), AquaC EV-120 (now skimmerless)

06/21/2007, 12:28 PM	#20
pledosophy Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Beaverton Posts: 5,290	Well ya I guess if you think about it. part of the ocean is always in the light and part of it is always in the dark. As the world turns the light cycle slowly changes. The pH of the ocean is pretty stable. __________________ 120g mixed reef 90g QT