What does lightning do for a reef?

[Schteeve]

I'm using Hydra26 HD, and they a feature for simulating weather storms. These flashes of lightning are blindingly bright and I would have thought they would scare the NH4 outta my poor fish.
Does lightning do anything for reef tanks? or is it just a gimmick to sell

 

[Hitman]

It’s a gimmick in my opinion. I agree it scares the heck out of the fish.

 

[JoshH]

they would scare the NH4 outta my poor fish.

;Hilarious ;Hilarious ;Hilarious ;Hilarious ;Hilarious ;Hilarious ;Hilarious ;Hilarious ;Hilarious

I haven't been able to find anything scientific about it being beneficial. There was a lenthly discussion on this topic some time ago and the consensus was to just not use the feature. Some stories are out there of it scaring fish to the point of it being harmful to them. IMO not worth the potential damage to a fishes physical health.

 

[Drex]

Following

 

[A. grandis]

The fish see that (in the natural environment) like any other animal: something unusual and a sign of danger. To reproduce that in our tanks is just foolish to say the least.
They added that to LED fixtures to sell more features because for many people the more features the better the product.

 

[mfinn]

Agreed with everyone. Just a bad gimmick.

 

[Waters]

Although it is definitely a gimmick, I actually think it is pretty cool when used sparingly. My fish don't even respond to it but it is interesting to see the coral all change within seconds.....things start to close up as soon as the lighting starts.

 

[Pete_the_Puma]

The lightning is a total gimmick.

If you want to start a more difficult discussion you could ask if the moon phases are a gimmick (or do they help the elusive coral spawning events??)

 

[NeutronMan]

Don’t know about the fish, but it startles me.