Lighting time for Fuge

i am getting ready to start my fuge and i was wondering how long should i keep the fuge lights on????

 

I keep mine on for 24/7 some say reverse light cycle 12 hr on when main tank lights off and vice versa.....Its up to you...I tried both and tested nitrates and found they were lowest with 24/7 lighting

http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html

 

personally i find the concept of 24 hour light interesting. more in the plant aspect. for vegetative growth a bunch of terrestrial plant growers will leave the lights one 24 hours aday. but the plants wont flower under these conditions because certain hormonal changes wont occur. so a night period is important for plants, but for us and our purposes 24 hours a day lighting will increase nutrient uptake so it would be positive.

but then you get to the ph problem. at night there is a ph swing do to the stoping of photosynthesis and co2 increase(if i understand what causes it). and to offset that swing people have there fuge turn on when there dt lights go off.

so whats more important stoping the ph swing or taking out more nutrients?

 

I would suggest that you apply the RPP (Reverse Photo Period ) myself and 12hrs on and 12 hrs off. All plants need light and dark to complete their metabolic processes .

 

I agree with Tangster. I do the reverse photo period. My chaeto grows like crazy. I think 24 hours is overkill

 

I also do the reverse photo period

 

for copepods is the reverse good or is 24 hrs?

 

Huuum I'm thinking in the wild where pods live as well as all things there is two times of day dark and light.. It really does not matter they sleep to Its more to a system then sand fauna I have them they come they go . I never really worried about how the pods are doing.

 

i need the pods for green mandarin and or seahorses

 

i keep mine on 24/7 for one reason....cant fit any more timers on the power strip and not buying a new strip! My nitrates are always between 0-2ppm and i cant even put my hand on anything in my sump with out pods crawling all over me. So i dont think it matters. To me more timers means more complicated...more complicated means more things to possibly mess up.