Algae growth prevented by blue lights only?

[Smithrz]

Hey folks,

I am officially cycling, woohoo! My plan was to run the tank without lights for the first few months, in order to try and prevent a lot of algae growth… I was wondering though, could I just run blue light only, at say 10 or 15%? Would that still promote algae growth?

Not a big deal tbh, but it just looks so nice and feels calming in the evening (and I would appreciate that after the stress of trying to get the way levels dialled in, constantly worrying that it’s rising or lowering too much in the overflow lol).

You all probably know that phone camera photos don’t accurately represent what a tank looks like, but the below is how my tank is looking 24 hours into the cycle (blue 15%, white 40%, moon 0% on the Red Sea Reef LED90), looks a lot whiter to my eye in these settings.

 

[Lavey29]

Why? I went the first 4 months without lights to allow my tank to develop biodiversity and microfauna before I turned lights on for adding coral. Fish don't need light. This made my subsequent ugly phases very manageable.

 

[Smithrz]

Why? I went the first 4 months without lights to allow my tank to develop biodiversity and microfauna before I turned lights on for adding coral. Fish don't need light. This made my subsequent ugly phases very manageable.

Okay, sure, but we’re all different and the “why” isn’t really relevant, haha.

I’m really just looking for thoughts (or better yet, experiences) on this… I’ve read other posts here, and searched the web and have found every answer imaginable from “blue light can’t grow algae”, “blue lights kinda grows algae”, and “blue light grows algae faster than white”, plus a whole host of other takes, lol.

 

[Lavey29]

Okay, sure, but we’re all different and the “why” isn’t really relevant, haha.

I’m really just looking for thoughts (or better yet, experiences) on this… I’ve read other posts here, and searched the web and have found every answer imaginable from “blue light can’t grow algae”, “blue lights kinda grows algae”, and “blue light grows algae faster than white”, plus a whole host of other takes, lol.

Blue lights can grow algae too but typically it's white light that grows algae fast. Corals don't need white light. It's mainly just for viewing astetics and to raise par.

The "why" means why turn lights on before the tank builds biodiversity and microfauna. If you put lights on algae will start. First diatoms, then cyano or gha and finally dinos if you don't keep your parameters good. Now if your tank builds biodiversity and microfauna first, pods, etc... your biome will be ready to address your ugly phases. The uglies will still come the first year but they will be manageable because you have a team of good guys in the tank to help battle along with your cleaner crew.

Also it takes more then light to grow algae but light can kick start it however algae like bubble algae can grow in the shadows or caves with no light. Cyano is very light dependent but hates flow so proper flow around the tank limits this bacteria from taking over.

 

[Miami Reef]

I’m not a believer in cycling dark to prevent the ugly stage. I would add a piece of live rock, shells, or anything with live coralline algae to seed the tank.

Diatoms are usually the first organism to grow. I’d add snails, a small tuxedo urchin etc to keep it trimmed down on the rocks. A few fish for aesthetics. Then slowly bring in the corals if you want.

I never did those dark cycles. I think it’s pretty pointless.

 

[Miami Reef]

To answer your question, blue lights only should reduce the amount of algae that grows, but they will still grow.

 

[Lavey29]

I’m not a believer in cycling dark to prevent the ugly stage. I would add a piece of live rock, shells, or anything with live coralline algae to seed the tank.

Diatoms are usually the first organism to grow. I’d add snails, a small tuxedo urchin etc to keep it trimmed down on the rocks. A few fish for aesthetics. Then slowly bring in the corals if you want.

I never did those dark cycles. I think it’s pretty pointless.

Good point, some real live ocean rock really jumpstarts the biome.

 

[Spudsmc]

BRS has a fantastic new series on how to cycle a tank and completely eliminate the “Ugly” faze highly recommend looking into it.

“”Hint get some pods in there ASAP””

But yes, how others have said the blue light will still grow algae there’s still an energy source for photosynthetic organisms might not be the best spectrum for growth but it will still grow .

Happy Reefing!

 

[Smithrz]

BRS has a fantastic new series on how to cycle a tank and completely eliminate the “Ugly” faze highly recommend looking into it.

“”Hint get some pods in there ASAP””

But yes, how others have said the blue light will still grow algae there’s still an energy source for photosynthetic organisms might not be the best spectrum for growth but it will still grow .

Happy Reefing!

Okay, I’ll check the latest from BRS, I tend to follow a lot of their advice. Thanks for the responses folks, and answering the question

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

I turn lights on after a week or 2, I like to promote some algae for the microfauna. But I also will let my tanks get super ugly for the sake of diversity. Eventually an algae easy to deal with dominates, usually once I cut the whites for a month.

But I can't recommend this to anyone who doesn't want to deal with algae