Lighting Schedule for Refugium Vs Display

[LegionaryLeader]

I just got my 65 Gallon reef tanks refugium set up with some chaeto. I only keep my display on 6 hours a day because I don't want to have an unstoppable algae outbreak. I'm having trochus snails clean up the diatoms in the tank currently before it gets out of control. I have read it is recommended that you light your fuge opposite to that of your display to keep the PH more stable. Does this mean I should light my fuge for 18 hours? That seems like a lot to me.
How much time do you guys light your display tanks?
How do you light your fuge compared to the display?
Thank you very much.

 

[Goodair]

Your gonna get a mix of answers, does you tank get hit by natural sunlight? I only do 8h for my fug since my tank isnt very far from a window.

 

[Nasir]

Run you Refug lights at night. It will help with stabilizing your numbers. I run mine from about 12am to 8am.

 

[lapin]

I run my fuge light about the same amount of time as my tank lights. All in the day time.

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

I have seen a +/-0.25 swing in 24 hours in my APEX pH logs. It ranges between 8.0 and 8.5. I have a reverse cycle fuge too. Nothing seems to be negatively impacted though. My only coral is GSP however.

The amount of swing will be dependent upon how much algae is in the DT vs the fuge and the amount and duration of light in each. I don't have equal amounts of macros or light in each though. When people talk about this I think the assumption is 12 hours on time each. If you go 18 hours in your fuge you will most likely get tons of algae growth. Not just your macro either.

 

[Tampaman]

I now run a cheap "full spectrum" 24" led fixture 24hrs a day above my 29g fuge, I had put what I thought was Cheato into middle compartment, it tumbled and broke into pieces, now i do have ( for lack of knowledge) what appears to be green seaweed growing, like think blades of grass, along with every other imaginable color of algae. But new API test kits show 0 nitrates & nitrites. The 150g DT has 0 algae, but the turbo snails helping out might starve soon. Plants in a vegetative state do not require light cycles from my understanding. The more light, the more growth, greater nitrate eliminating ability. My previous tank had an odyssea 250w MH on it non stop, the growth was overkill, but water changes were very few and never required based on the tanks tested levels. It was overkill...maybe someone with biology knowledge will tell us that water plants also go into a bloom/flower stage with a certain light cycle. If so, constant light would grow out the current pieces without making new pieces, thus keeping the algae in your fuge and not propagating into the DT???

 

[oceanslide]

my fuge runs from 8pm-10am, display from 9am-9pm

 

[Tampaman]

Please identify anything you recognize in refugium and all new actentincs, 250w MH lamps, and ballast are getting replaced the day after Christmas. And dual 350 gyre's in works as well...tank has been running about 3 months now...but it was an established tank for 7 years with low flow, dismal light...so basically extremely well established clean rock.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

I just got my 65 Gallon reef tanks refugium set up with some chaeto. I only keep my display on 6 hours a day because I don't want to have an unstoppable algae outbreak. I'm having trochus snails clean up the diatoms in the tank currently before it gets out of control. I have read it is recommended that you light your fuge opposite to that of your display to keep the PH more stable. Does this mean I should light my fuge for 18 hours? That seems like a lot to me.
How much time do you guys light your display tanks?
How do you light your fuge compared to the display?
Thank you very much.

The purpose of growing algae for filtration is to control levels of inorganic nitrogen products (NH3/4, NO2/3) & PO4. These compounds are removed from the water by assimilation as a consequence of photosynthesis. So, the longer the photo period, the greater the assimilation, resulting in lower inorganic nutrient levels.

Photosynthesis also removes the C from CO2, leaving O2, oxygenating the water & helping stabilising pH.