Refugium: reverse light or 24/7?
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i don't know for sure but i would say reverse cycle. it lets the plants have some dark....i think they actually do the majority of thier growing at the night time. make food in the day and utilize it at night.
think about nature....they have some light and some dark.
i vote reverse!!
later
Lunchbucket
think about nature....they have some light and some dark.
i vote reverse!!
later
Lunchbucket
24/7
Let's be realistic here. Algaes are very simple plants. They do not need a dark period. period.
There is always some discussion about a plant's light cycle versus it's dark cycle. There are two cycles in a photosynthetic arganism the photosynthetic cycle and the respiration cycle. Respiration occurs 24 hours a day at the cellular level in plants the same as it occurs in animals. The photosynthetic cycle occurs when there is . . . LIGHT!!
There is no reason that 24 hour lighting would be detrimental to an algae. Think about the lichens (read algae) that are located above the arctic and below the antarctic circles. Thes undergo time periods of 24 hour lighting and grow just fine.
On to the animals . . . with a well-planted refugium there will always be ample areas of darkness for pods etc. to hide in. But guess what? In the abscence of predators the darkness is no longer needed. I have a refugium lit with over 6W per gallon of PC lighting and the pods population is tremendous. Even the bristle worms can be found sliding around on the surfaces of the macros.
I used to live right next to the pioneer seed world headquarters in Iowa. They had large greenhouses lit up like the sun with 1500W metal halides. They were over a half-mile from me, but you know how I knew they were there? They were lit up 24/7.
But hey, everyone is entitled to thweir own opinions and the ultimate decision on how to run one's tank always rests with the owner. Just wanted to share some of my botany from college.
Let's be realistic here. Algaes are very simple plants. They do not need a dark period. period.
There is always some discussion about a plant's light cycle versus it's dark cycle. There are two cycles in a photosynthetic arganism the photosynthetic cycle and the respiration cycle. Respiration occurs 24 hours a day at the cellular level in plants the same as it occurs in animals. The photosynthetic cycle occurs when there is . . . LIGHT!!
There is no reason that 24 hour lighting would be detrimental to an algae. Think about the lichens (read algae) that are located above the arctic and below the antarctic circles. Thes undergo time periods of 24 hour lighting and grow just fine.
On to the animals . . . with a well-planted refugium there will always be ample areas of darkness for pods etc. to hide in. But guess what? In the abscence of predators the darkness is no longer needed. I have a refugium lit with over 6W per gallon of PC lighting and the pods population is tremendous. Even the bristle worms can be found sliding around on the surfaces of the macros.
I used to live right next to the pioneer seed world headquarters in Iowa. They had large greenhouses lit up like the sun with 1500W metal halides. They were over a half-mile from me, but you know how I knew they were there? They were lit up 24/7.
But hey, everyone is entitled to thweir own opinions and the ultimate decision on how to run one's tank always rests with the owner. Just wanted to share some of my botany from college.
Not to mention that with a 24/7 photopereod refugeum your macros willstay in the refugeum. If the lighting were reversed then the plants have the time to go sexual and therefore will send algie babies into the display tank where they will eventually populate. Whats the point in a refugeum when the algie grows rife all over. I know theres the PH issue but you could sort that with Kalkwasser at night. What i really think refugeums are good for is Phosphate and toxin removal. Who cares if the little guys are happy, there only going to get ripped out and fed to tangs anyway, if the setup is utilitarian then you have to decide what you want to achive with your refugeum. The lighting will be in cosideration of that. But i really cant see any proven advantages in pod growth from a reverse lighting photopereod. There are defenately advantages in absorbtion of toxins and keeping the plants/algie in the refugium by making sure they dont go sexual. P.S. a refugeum that goes sexual stinks and is very cloudy from what i hear, doesn'yt sound good.
Reverse with great success. Light is food, do you eat 24/7? Plants need rest to rid their cells of waste and other biological processes. Also, other critters live down there and many are nocturnal so they too require periods without lighting.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Scott
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Scott
I'm sooooo glad you asked.
I ran my refugium 24/7 until someone, somewhere on some BB strongly recommended that I change to reverse. I had no problems using 24/7 but I thot I'd give reverse a try. Guess what happened the very first "night" I shut the light off?
The algae went sexual. Overnight.
Almost all of the algae in the refugium was clear (dead) or on its way out. And yes, it began to stink a couple days later. Out I went to the LFS looking for more caulerpa!
I'll never make THAT mistake again.
I ran my refugium 24/7 until someone, somewhere on some BB strongly recommended that I change to reverse. I had no problems using 24/7 but I thot I'd give reverse a try. Guess what happened the very first "night" I shut the light off?
The algae went sexual. Overnight.
Almost all of the algae in the refugium was clear (dead) or on its way out. And yes, it began to stink a couple days later. Out I went to the LFS looking for more caulerpa!
I'll never make THAT mistake again.
24\7
If you get a ecosysem they say to run it 24\7 to keep the algae from going sexual and creating a die off.I have also had luck with 12-12 as long as I used more than one type of algae in the refugium.So I guess that is still a study in progress?The fun never stops.hehe.About the time you think you know the rules in the game,they change.
Later
reeferguy
If you get a ecosysem they say to run it 24\7 to keep the algae from going sexual and creating a die off.I have also had luck with 12-12 as long as I used more than one type of algae in the refugium.So I guess that is still a study in progress?The fun never stops.hehe.About the time you think you know the rules in the game,they change.
Later
reeferguy
I recently started my 25 gallon refugium with some live rock. My display tank is in the works; I know back-asswards. I found a few pieces with a tiny sprig of caulerpa (feather and another with what I think may be razor). The tank only has 2 18w NO bulbs and the caulerpa is beginning to spread so to me, MH is overkill (maybe literally) and definitely not worth the money.
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