Red Sea Reef Mature Question

[Rudzbrewski]

Today I set up my tank using live rock and am starting Day 1 of the Reef Mature. In the guide it says to set lights for 10 hours per day. I was planning on cycling with no lights on to reduce algae growth. Would this cause any issues?

 

[Malifry97]

Today I set up my tank using live rock and am starting Day 1 of the Reef Mature. In the guide it says to set lights for 10 hours per day. I was planning on cycling with no lights on to reduce algae growth. Would this cause any issues?

First of all, GO BILLS! Now to address your question, if it is REAL live rock with critters attached, you need the lights for the things that are alive (corals, and photosynthetic sponges, macro algae.) to be able to live. Also if it is indeed live rock, you don’t need to cycle as there is more than enough bacteria to support any amount of fish. @brandon429 will confirm this.