refugium 24hour lighting

[roidan]

does 24 hour lighting means the macroalgae engage in photosynthesis 24 hours non stop? or should we give them 12 hour day and night to rest......in my old 2 ft set up...i was using 24hours...

wonder what do you guys think

[Morgan]

IMO 12 hours is good enough.

[roidan]

thanks morgan....

but does it mean that 24hours...means 24 hours non stop photosynthesis..means 24 hours exporting nutrients out of the system? hmm....

[Morgan]

Like working non stop 24/7................Sooner or later it is going to crash

[roidan]

sometime back a bro here said he was trying a 6hour light 6 hour off 6 hour light 6 hour off cycle...wonder if it worked for him...

[Morgan]

You have to check with him if he is still around

Mine is on natural lighting cycle.

[roidan]

yeah ..he is still around...geee..i forgot his nick/name..sorry bro ...he stays in west coast near ML......and he was in the newspaper photo also....ahhhhhhhhhhhh..just cant recall his nick/name...

really nice and frenly chap...

[Morgan]

You mean william?

[roidan]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS...

now i remember the full nick..

williamuk....never see his posts very long liao...

one of the nice chaps i met from here....

he said he was trying this 6hour cycle ...

[islander]

i heard most refugium owners do 'reverse' lighting meaning daytime the usual photoperiod of mh and actinic on main tank then when mh and actinic turns off,then nighttime lighting will then resume on the refugium where photosynthesis is more active..jus a thought...we r all here to xchange ideas...

[ReDDeviLs]

i heard that using macro algae if no 24hrs lighting,it will turn assexual.

[Morgan]

If you have a problem with ph then the reverse lighting will help.

The refugium help to eliminate the CO2 produce by the fishes and invert at night keeping the ph in balance but IMO this can be solve with good water circulation.

[UFO]

based on my own experience, 24/7 or 12/7 depends on the algae u grow. my fern & grape turn assexual when using 12/7. only the hairy string type (sorry, still dun know the name) survived.

Bro bwilly, wud u be so kind to post a pic of this "hairy string" type algae u bought for me & hope that someone can name it.

anyway, with 24/7, the macro algae will definitely work overtime. u will experience very fast grow & u need to crop it regularly. IMO, it good for exporting nutrients. also constant supplying of oxygen 24/7 by means of photosynthesis. not sure abt the efect on ph though.

[bawater]

To grow any plants well you just need to go back to basics (or use natural light).

photosynthesis involves two primary steps for higher plants;

(1) the capture of solar energy in electrons ,obtained by splitting of a water molecule and

(2)the transfer of that electron and the hydrogen released when combined with carbon dioxide to a sugar or alcohol, which happens in a dark phase called carbon fixation.

Following Florida Farm's research into growing single cell plants (microalgae), i also applied that to my refugium . (normal daylight hours) pH does not flunciate much-maybe between 8.1-8.4.

16hrs on

8 hrs off

you may want to even run 20hrs on and 4hrs off- but i leave that trial for you to try.

The moss type-stringy type is also a member of the caulerpa family,(i found the name for it but can't remember anymore)and i find it the most robust thing ever and u can actually watch the growth daily. i use it along with a variety of other algaes.

Another thing to note is that- young plants grow the fastest (in the process using up more nutrients) so regular cutting/pruning will be beneficial..if not a rule. Also PL lights produce much better growth than FL .

Now on to the grape and feather caulerpa, actually many algae will die or die back with a major change in light levels and big changes in water chemistry. Caulerpa turns sexual and this is a form of reproduction if conditions don't suite it. It will also go sexual if it gets too crowded...spreading its spores everywhere and releasing back the nutrients it has used(white cloudy water).Not a major problem as i have let it go before with no side effects to the main tank.(but then again,i run 2 skimmers so don't take my word on it)

But it does give u a warning:12 hours before it melts it will start to yellow while the insides becomes liquid (i note that going sexual is usually in the early morning from abt sunrise 7 to 9am as mine is on the balcony and able to receive moonlight and ambient sunlight) this means chk your fuge at nite and you should catch any signs and remove it.

Stick to whatever that works for you.

[KingFish]

The long stringy macroalgae is known as Caulerpa Webbiana. It grows fast and do note that it has clingers, which means its hard to remove if you ever intend to do so.

Starting a refugium is easy, maintenance of it is another story. Basically, you're trying to maintain another ecosystem, so think about it.

If nutrient removal is a primary reason, then keeping a low bioload and good regimental discipline at maintenance is a better and safer option.