Fuge question

[spw4949]

I have a 10 gallon fuge on my 46 gal bowfront. Any reason I shouldn't keep the light on my fuge(28w coralife compact fluoro) 24/7? Just wondering....

Thanks.

 

[jamest0o0]

I don't see there being a problem, what is in your fuge?

 

[Roy G. Biv]

Age old battle.

Sum up....

1 Green things do better overall with a period of darkness (rest).
2 A fuge with an opposite lighting cycle of the tank keeps the pH more stable overall.

 

[phish guy]

i run my fuge light opposite my HQI, been working great.

 

[sps1-2-b]

Running it opposite also saves electricity. Every little bit helps in this hobby.

 

[mg426]

I run reverse schedule on mine.

 

[Dave & Monica]

The only reason I've heard for running 24/7 is certain types of micro algae go sexual if not under constant light.

 

[Playa-1]

Electricity bill is a good reason not to run it 24/7. I prefer a reverse lighting cycle unless I need to keep the fuge light running for a special reason.

 

[spw4949]

If there's no real benefit then I'll put it on a cycly opposite my main tank. Thanks to everyone for their input.

 

[IslandCrow]

Generally, Caulerpa is the only genus commonly used in the hobby where 24/7 lighting is recommended, and that's to help prevent sexual reproduction, and not really for the benefit of the algae. 12-16 hours is generally about all you want for most macro algaes, and just for the reason Pmolan stated.

As an aside, Anthony Calfo and Robert Fenner have a great book on Reef Invertebrates with a nice section on macro algaes if you're really interested in the subject. It also has a lot of good general reefkeeping information.

http://www.amazon.com/Reef-Inverteb...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220455703&sr=1-1