Do live rocks in sump in light?

[anum]

Hi gurus,

After seeing my tank, my friend advise that the live rocks in my sump need light to cultivate the bateria. Is he correct? Currently I have about 20kg of live rock in my sump which is not expose to any source of light as it in the cabinet.

[Kalib]

I don't think light is needed to cultivate the bacteria in the liverock, but light is definitely needed if you want the more desirable(unfortunately, the undesirable stuff comes along too) stuff like coralline algae to grow.

I ever left liverock in pails without light(only the top bit receive some light from the living room lights) for months, don't seem to have effect on the bacteria as when i placed the rocks into a new setup and placed a market prawn inside, there was no effect on the ammonia/nitrite levels. I only detected nitrates, indicating there are bactria at work. All tests were done on Salifert Testkits.

[anum]

I don't think light is needed to cultivate the bacteria in the liverock, but light is definitely needed if you want the more desirable(unfortunately, the undesirable stuff comes along too) stuff like coralline algae to grow.

I ever left liverock in pails without light(only the top bit receive some light from the living room lights) for months, don't seem to have effect on the bacteria as when i placed the rocks into a new setup and placed a market prawn inside, there was no effect on the ammonia/nitrite levels. I only detected nitrates, indicating there are bactria at work. All tests were done on Salifert Testkits.

Thanks, no need to waste electric bill to light up the sump then.