Does 6 + 6, really equal twelve?

I enjoy looking at and maintaining my reef in the morning and evening. A twelve hour light cycle means I am usually missing out on one or the other.

I am experimenting with a six hour cycle (six on, six off, rinse, repeat, blow dry and style). No, really, just six-on six-off.

Any body have any luck with this? My Cyano problem seems to be easier to control, all the fish like it, but my flying leather might be suffering.

[55gal, 75#LR, 1-Cardinal, 1-orange spot goby, 1-yellow tang, 2-damsels, 1 fire fish, lots of hermits, snails, and a sea hare. BOT refuge. SKWID large powerhead. ]

 

Humm, I don't know about this one. Seems like a good Idea since I usually miss my daylight cycle when I'm at work. But I have a feeling that this would negatively affect the corals.
I'm thinking the 6 on and 6 off cycle would be more appropriate for only just maybe one or two days of the the week to simulate overcast days etc.

 

i had a friend that tried to split 8 hours of sleep up into like 2 hour periods. he did it for a while, then got kinda "cracked out"

although i have ZERO fact to back this up. its not natrual at all so i am guesing it would carry some negative side affects. but who knows maybe it could be positive like make coral grow twice as fast

side note: same guy ate nothing but ramen noodles for a month of so.
ended p getting scurvy. it was the first case the hospital had on file for like 30 years.

 

i wouldnt listen to a thing that friend said. haha lol

 

Some information:

Circadian rhythm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

What most aquarists don't know is that are a whole host of living things in the aquarium that depend on adequate light. All the way from the obvious invertebrates, coral and plants to the myriad of strains of "good" bacteria and creatures we hardly see. I would say our tanks should get 12 hours total light. Trying to controll cyano in this matter isn't addressing the real issue of excess nutrients. Here is a good read with many links;
Red Slime Algae (Cyanobacteria) - Description, causes and cures for Red Slime Algae (Cyanobacteria)

 

Here's an update..

It's been a month now with the 6on-6off cycle. My cyano problem is gone, but that was due to my caving in and using the control powder, not the lighting change.

My corals couldn't be happier. Everything is thriving, and many are propagating on their own. My xenias are going to need thinning soon, and my kenya tree has dropped four new pups.

The fish have developed a Pavlovian response to the light cycle, and now line up for feeding twice a day when the lights come on.

I will update this again at three months.

 

who would have thought I had a 3.5 billion year old organism in my tank? almost makes it seem cool...almost.

 

http://www.3reef.com/forums/members/reef-er-madness-albums-my-setup-picture5967-april-4-2010.html

 

I've heard 2 + 2 = 5...