At What Times Should The Lighting Be On Above The Refugium

In the refugium we are attempting to grow macro algae. The reason for this is that as they grow they remove nutrients like nitrate and phosphate out of the water.

In a previous post I have discussed what type of lighting should be used so that you can get optimum algae growth plus I have also talked briefly about harvesting the algae from time to time.

One thing which I have not really touched upon is how long you should provide lighting for.

There are two methods available – one which I agree with and one which I don’t.

I shall cover the one that I don’t agree with first.

Option 1 – Provide Lighting Over a 24 Hour Period.

So why don’t I agree with this?

Basically it’s because it does not happen in nature. There are some aquarists who believe that providing lighting over a 24 hour period prevents algae crashes from happening. This is where all the algae suddenly dies and all the nutrients which are removed are released back into the aquarium.

To me this has never been proven. If you look at nature the algae beds in the sea are exposed to sunlight over a determined length of time. The same as provided for the corals. You would not leave your lights on for 24 hours to provide light for the corals so why do it for the algae.

I am firmly of the opinion that we should attempt to replicate nature wherever we can. It works in nature so why try to change it in our aquariums?

I also believe that the algae needs a rest!

There is another factor to this as well. This is that in darkness the micro organisms come out more and start to feed and reproduce. It has been noted by many aquarists that they have experienced a pod explosion when the lights are out for a length of time.

Option 2 – Provide Lighting Over A Shorter Period.

This is my preferred option.

I have covered some of the reasons above. i.e. lighting is not provided over a 24 hour period in nature so why do it in our aquariums and the factor of the little critters which we are providing refuge to.

So how long is a shorter period. Well it can be many things but the method I use is that the lights above the refugium turn on when the main lighting turns off above the display aquarium – i.e. the metal halide lighting. They stay on all night and turn off when the metal halides turn on the next day. This is sometimes called reverse sunlight lighting.

So why do I do it this way and not have them on at the same time as the metal halides?

Basically this is so that I do not experience a drop in pH over the nightime hours. The reason this happens is that when the lights are on photosynthesis occurs, carbon dioxide is used and oxygen given off into the aquarium and the pH rises or in this case remains stable.

Stability as we all know is a major factor we are all hoping to achieve.

If we had the refugium lights on at the same time as the main display aquarium when all the lights went off there is a possibility that the pH will drop.

So that’s why I prefer option 2 – it simply makes sense to me.

Another thing that I also do is occasionally turn off the lighting above the refugium for a couple of days. I have found that when I do this I get a lot more ‘critters’ in the refugium. The more ‘critters’ there are the happier I am!

---

Related Posts

• 5 Cardinal Sins Of A Marine Aquarist I thought I’d jot down what I consider to be the five major sins of a marine aquarist, be that for a reef tank or...
• Does Natural Algae Control Actually Work At some stage in practically every aquariums life it will become the end result of an algae outbreak. Quite often these outbreaks simply disappear on...
• Mud Bed Aquarium Filtration Mud bed filtration is similar to that of other sand based aquarium filtration systems, however the substrate is made of such a small grain size...
• Can You Have A Refugium In The Display Aquarium? A [tag-self]refugium[/tag-self] is, as the name implies, a refuge where many tiny life forms can escape the hungry attentions of fish. The refugium is often...
• Using Mangroves As A Filtration Method Using mangroves as a type of [tag-self]filtration[/tag-self] in a salt water system was started by Julian Sprung several years ago. He planted a mangrove into...

Related Websites

• Why In The World Do Businesses Leave Their Lights On At Night? I had to run out and do some errands late last night and I was amazed that every single office building I drove by had...
• IT Light Bulb Jokes Q: How many Windows programmers does it take to change a light bulb? A: Four hundred and seventy-two. One to write WinGetLightBulbHandle, one to write...
• Landscape Lighting Kits Offer Value at a Price by Jean Paul Kinnemeyer A beautifully landscaped garden is a treat for family and guests alike, but even more so when the escape can be...
• Can Vintage Lighting Fixtures Add Aged Class & Style? If you are in the middle of restoring or keeping up a vintage house, it is probable that at some time you might have to...
• Recharge Your Deck's Mojo with Deck Lighting Deck Lighting not only adds an attractive look to a deck, but it also can add safety and enjoyment. Decks were created and used for...

Tags: Aquarium Filtration, Aquarium Lighting, Equipment, macro-algae, marine-aquarium, refugium