Lighting Q for cycling tank

Guy at the LFS told me to leave my lights on for 3 hours a day because of the algae growth. My question is should i leave my actinic light on all the time for the Coraline algae?, or woluld bad algae grow from actinic?

 

My preference is leave the lights on for almost a full time when cycling. Sure, there is the potential to grow algae, but there's always a potential for that even after cycling. Coraline algae will take a while to get started, so don;t worry about that. I'd say run your daylight bulbs and hold off on the actinics for now if you are worried. Actinics have a better chance of growing cyano. But, that to can happen at any time. So, enjoy the lights and worry about the algae when it comes. It will happen no matter what you do.

 

Ok, well i have 3 30w t8 which i took one out and added an actinic. should i take the actinic out and but the other one back in?

Thanks for your fast reply!

 

No leave it the way it is or add another actinic. it's your choice on how you want your tank to look (eye appeal). You will get about a 50 50 response for lights on or off during the cycle. They are not absolutely necessary, but I would turn them on for a little while anyway.


Jim

 

I cycled my tank with no lights all the way through. You have nothing to worry about. It's true, theres always the potential to grow algae later. Plus you save on the electric bill for a bit.