Minimal amount of lighting per day

[Str8linespeed]

Is there a baseline for the minimal amount of lighting hours required for corals per day???

Now here is the reason I ask.. My tank is still considered new.. 4 months old. Im dealing with the cyano stage and Im currently running my lights from 12-8pm. I was thinking of only running them from 3-8 to possibly help out, but I want to make sure the corals are getting enough light. Thoughts???

 

[TokiHacker]

what kind of live stock do you have?

to my knowledge cyano is a bacteria not an algae. If this is the case siphon it up during water changes and it will eventually go away.

 

[tmnigat]

My RSM 250 constantly had cyano problems. The skimmer just wasn't that effective on it. Chemi-clean worked wonders though and would get rid of it for a month or two at a time.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Str8linespeed, I don't think reducing the light will have any effect on the bacteria bloom. I'd keep siphoning it out and adding new saltwater everytime it gets a good start. Eventually it will use up all the 'food' it is using and will stop developing.

BTW, you aren't dosing any carbon in the form of vodka or vinegar are you? Often people get to the limit of carbon dosing and then get a cyano bloom.

 

[Ou8me2]

Actually reducing lighting will help. I was dealing with a pretty major bacterial bloom a few months after I started my last tank. I didn't go full dark mode but I only did lighting 4 hours a day. I siphoned all I could and did a 50 percent water change and added filter sock and poly-fil and washed them out every 12 or so hours. After about 3 days it was fading fast.

I found this article when doing some research.

The first response usually offered to eradicating cyanobacteria is to increase flow in the aquarium, reduce feedings, and check the age of the light bulbs in use. While this advice may help some, it isn't the blanket cure for the majority of systems. Hobbyists with excellent husbandry skills may still encounter cyanobacteria from time to time. Could it be overfeeding, a lack of water changes, or dosing carbon-based products? Perhaps it was all of the above, but in reality what has happened is that everything fell perfectly into place to create a "œcyano bloom" where previously one had not occurred. This type of bacteria was already in the system, waiting for the conditions to aggregate to the point that it could finally rear its ugliness as a reddish mass, much to the dismay of the hobbyist, seasoned or newly involved.

Siphoning out all that is visible is a good way to reduce its volume in the aquarium, but it won't get rid of all of it. Brushing it off with a tank-only toothbrush may help, and keeping the protein skimmer working at peak efficiency is another good plan. Trapping any bits floating about in filter floss or a filter sock can help reduce its physical presence too.


a simple method is to simply turn off the lights over the aquarium for three days3. If the reef tank is primarily made up of soft corals and fish, proceed without fear. If the tank contains large polyped stony corals (LPS), anemones, and clams, this method is still a safe choice. If the tank contains small polyped stony corals (SPS), there may be reason to pause to consider if the livestock can tolerate 72 hours without light. Several people, including this author, have left the lights off over their SPS-laden tank and were very pleased with the amazing results. What happens is the cyanobacteria is starved without a light source, and thus dies back sufficiently that when the lights turn on again, it is gone. An additional perk is that the water clarity will be incredible; all four walls of the aquarium are completely clean of algae, and the sand and rock will be cyano-free. The protein skimmer should be cleaned out daily, especially on the third day because that is when the die-off will be exported quite heavily.

 

[SycoCell]

Whenever I have weird outbreaks in my tank, I limit the lights - on occasion, I turn them off for 24-48 hours just to "reboot" the tank.

 

[Str8linespeed]

what kind of live stock do you have?

to my knowledge cyano is a bacteria not an algae. If this is the case siphon it up during water changes and it will eventually go away.

I have various LPS, SPS and softies. As for fish, 2 Cardinals, 2 Clowns, 1 Royal Gramma, 1, starry blenny, 1 diamond goby, 1 firefish

My RSM 250 constantly had cyano problems. The skimmer just wasn't that effective on it. Chemi-clean worked wonders though and would get rid of it for a month or two at a time.

Im not using the stock skimmer. I have a Tunze 9004 in mine.. I've heard of the Chemi-Clean, but I dont think the bloom is bad enough yet to need that.

Str8linespeed, I don't think reducing the light will have any effect on the bacteria bloom. I'd keep siphoning it out and adding new saltwater everytime it gets a good start. Eventually it will use up all the 'food' it is using and will stop developing.

BTW, you aren't dosing any carbon in the form of vodka or vinegar are you? Often people get to the limit of carbon dosing and then get a cyano bloom.

I have been blowing it off of the rocks with a turkey baster, but have not been siphoning it out.. I probably should be though from the sounds of it. I have also been dosing NO3-PO4-X to try to get both of those down. I finally bought Hanna 736 and found out my PO4 is @ .04. My Salifert test kit never showed anything. Dosing that stuff could certainly be the issue.

Actually reducing lighting will help. I was dealing with a pretty major bacterial bloom a few months after I started my last tank. I didn't go full dark mode but I only did lighting 4 hours a day. I siphoned all I could and did a 50 percent water change and added filter sock and poly-fil and washed them out every 12 or so hours. After about 3 days it was fading fast.

I found this article when doing some research.

Thanks for that article, I have changed my lighting schedule from 8 hours a day to just 5. I may go for a couple of days of darkness just to see what happens.

Whenever I have weird outbreaks in my tank, I limit the lights - on occasion, I turn them off for 24-48 hours just to "reboot" the tank.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Ron Reefman]

Actually reducing lighting will help. I was dealing with a pretty major bacterial bloom a few months after I started my last tank. I didn't go full dark mode but I only did lighting 4 hours a day. I siphoned all I could and did a 50 percent water change and added filter sock and poly-fil and washed them out every 12 or so hours. After about 3 days it was fading fast.

My guess is that all the other things you did had an impact on the bacteria, not the shorter lighting period. Just my opinion though.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

What kind of lighting and what kind of corals?

3 days of lights our followed by a water change an fresh GFO is a good way to get ahead of the cyano.


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[Str8linespeed]

What kind of lighting and what kind of corals?

3 days of lights our followed by a water change an fresh GFO is a good way to get ahead of the cyano.

6 bulb 39W T5 fixture

My corals are...Frog spawn, duncan, torch, trumpet, acan, birdnest, monti, war coral, GSP, sinularia, mushroom, nepthia, zoa, and Im sure Im forgetting something.

I've been doing a 10-15 gallon WC every week to try to drop my nitrates and phosphates. The GFO, was just changed 1 week ago. I shut the lights off starting today, and will do another WC this weekend.

 

[Ou8me2]

My guess is that all the other things you did had an impact on the bacteria, not the shorter lighting period. Just my opinion though.

Could have been but all I know is I got rid of it fairly quickly once turning down the lights and washing the filter sock and filter floss out every 12ish hours. I did 3 different days of water changes and it really had little to no effect on the bacterial bloom. Each 30-gallon water change had little to no effect on it and that's close to a 100% water change for me.

I was skeptical myself about turning down the lights and that's why I didn't go full blackout.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Assuming your bulbs are not old, I think you could probably get by with around 5 hours of light daily indefinitely, and could shorten the period to as little as 2 hours for a few weeks to help you get cyano under control. While I agree too long of a photoperiod is not the root cause, and shortening your photoperiod is a "band-aid", it is still a helpful tool. Often you will notice that the Cyanobacteria is not that bad in the morning, but by the end of the day it is covering everything. Logically, shortening the photoperiod shortens this cycle and keeps the bloom in check.

Naturally, the sun is only at peak intensity for a few hours mid-day. Under high intensity lighting, corals will reach a point of photosaturation after just a few hours and any lighting provided beyond this is not required or put to use by the corals. I have kept SPS tanks for years running MH as little as 4 hours a day and using two VHO tubes as viewing light during the rest of the photoperiod.

Also, make sure your source water for water changes is clean as well. No sense in doing water changes if your source water has nutrients in it.


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[Str8linespeed]

Assuming your bulbs are not old, I think you could probably get by with around 5 hours of light daily indefinitely, and could shorten the period to as little as 2 hours for a few weeks to help you get cyano under control. While I agree too long of a photoperiod is not the root cause, and shortening your photoperiod is a "band-aid", it is still a helpful tool. Often you will notice that the Cyanobacteria is not that bad in the morning, but by the end of the day it is covering everything. Logically, shortening the photoperiod shortens this cycle and keeps the bloom in check.

Naturally, the sun is only at peak intensity for a few hours mid-day. Under high intensity lighting, corals will reach a point of photosaturation after just a few hours and any lighting provided beyond this is not required or put to use by the corals. I have kept SPS tanks for years running MH as little as 4 hours a day and using two VHO tubes as viewing light during the rest of the photoperiod.

Also, make sure your source water for water changes is clean as well. No sense in doing water changes if your source water has nutrients in it.

Interesting info, thank you. As for my make up water, yes its clean. I constantly check the TDS while making it as well as for chlorine.