refugium lighting

[jody]

hey for refugiums whats the recomended light tiem for them, should it be 24/7, only 12 hours, on at night, not at day?
whatdoes everyone do ?
i have run them 24/7 for the last 2 months and my macro and mangroves have grown at least 4x their original, but im not sure if 24/7 lightign is good?

[Quinster]

some people run it on a reverse light cycle from their tank for a few reasons...

-one would be heat so not all lighting is running ata the same time
-another would be to help the stability of their tanks pH, when your main lights go off your tanks pH will have a tendancy to drop, having the lights on a reverse cycle helps to lessen or eliminate the drop.

I myself run 1/2 my refugium lighting 24/7 and the brightest part running 8 - 10 hours a day. I have xenia covering 75% of my 35G refugium, and the other 25% is filled with mangroves.

HTH

Quinn

[jody]

wow i wish i had a big refugium like that lol myne is liek 3 gals lol,
but thanks allot for the help

[sphelps]

lighting time really depends upon what is in your refugium, for example too much light on mangroves will cause them to become more light depended than nutrient which is not what you want, no more than 12 hours per day should be used for mangroves, they may grow faster but they are not removing as much nutrients from the tank as they could be, plus mangroves are a plant (no algae) and require some darkness. Like Quinn said the night cycle has it's benifits especially with the PH so it is what I would recommend.

[Quinster]

I should have explained that too, the side with my mangroves are away from the 24 hour light cycle, that lighting is just over the xenia.