Random Thread generator #1

[airinhere]

This thread is meant to be intelligently hijacked.

Please feel free to include new topics as they might be needed or apply to the current situation.

I think it would be pretty cool to get some insight into how people are understanding their own reef setups. I personally have reasons and logic behind everything I have done and everything I try to do in my tanks. Sometimes I realize I made greivous errors and sometimes I realize I overlooked something that should have been obvious.

Regardless, there are always justifications behind the decisions I made.

Fun thing about reefing is that there is more than one way to do anything. Most new reefers dont have the experience to understand the subtle reasons why one method is prefered over another by different reefers.

So lets tell them why.

I would like this thread to be about what dfferent people are doing to keep thier tanks healthy. More importantly, I want to see explanations about why you chose a particular method.

No flaming (we are going to all have to understand that we are not all going to agree about everything) and any evidence has to be presented in a neutral manner. The supporting literature can be reviewed by others and their input is welcome, but again, we need real information, not just opinions.

 

[airinhere]

Okay, lets open a can of worms.
i will go first.

I run dual light cycles.

Dual 250W metal halides, 20K Catalinas, that I switching over to 10K coralife bulbs. On at 8am, off at 2pm. On again at 6pm and off at midnight.
I run actinic (NO 2 tubes) from 8am till midnight.

I also keep my refugium lit from 8 am till midnight.

I have done some poking around on the forum for insight into how useful this is to avoid photoinhibition in my corals and I have recieved mixed response. The most credible individual I spoke with (MCSaxmaster) has provided some very good input about how coral really work (he is doing his graduate work currently about corals).
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...ge=25&highlight=dual light cycle&pagenumber=1

I propose that this is helping me to keep low-light and high light corals all in the same tank and allows me to get very good coloration in my corals. I also feel that I am getting better growth out of my corals this way.

The dark period in the middle of the day is what I am using to justify my ability to keep high light and low light corals together in my tank. Because there is a period when the products of photosynthesis are able to be purged, do not have serious issues with 'light shock' like most people do. It is my belief that the colors I am getting are a result of this as well.

I do make sure to give my corals as much exposure to light as I can. During light periods, coarals are much more active about forming calcium skeleton material than during dark periods. So instead of having only a single short light perid, I opted to try and double my light periods and get maximum growth.

On a side note, half of my daily electric usage to power my lights are during non-peak hours, so I save a little bit on my electrical bill also.

or would ya'll prefer to go back to the skimmer topic?