I have not done this in a while but I am going to leave my lights off today on my display. Does anyone ever do this to give your tank a simulated cloudy day? I have read posts on RC (a while back) that it is not a bad idea. Thoughts?
Anyone go lightless for a day?
- Thread starter darren24
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THAT I understand...I've cut my lights back to just 5 hours a day for the last few days for the same reason. So far, seems to be doing a dandy job of cleaning up the bad algae and none of my livestock seems to be suffering. I've never heard of just cutting them off to simulate a cloudy day.
Has anyone else heard of this? (Not picking on you Darren. Just never heard of doing that...)
i do it once a month... i take a powerhead and blast the sand , coral and live rock, until the tank is cloudy, then i leave the lights off for a day.. the next morning the tank is crystal clear....kinda stimulates a storm.. my orp also tends to rise after i do this, and the skimmer also produces alot more skimate,,
I guess if your goal is to simulate nature, it is a good idea.
But for growth, color, health? I wouldn't think so. But what do I know...
I see it as this: In our tanks we cater to corals' growth and color. If we have a healthy coral that isnt really growing, we arent satisfied. Growth + color = happiness. In nature, the weather doesn't cater to the coral. THe coral just deals with it. I think in some respects (but not all) our tanks can create more ideal conditions than the ocean (ie no storms to break the coral skeletons).
But for growth, color, health? I wouldn't think so. But what do I know...
I see it as this: In our tanks we cater to corals' growth and color. If we have a healthy coral that isnt really growing, we arent satisfied. Growth + color = happiness. In nature, the weather doesn't cater to the coral. THe coral just deals with it. I think in some respects (but not all) our tanks can create more ideal conditions than the ocean (ie no storms to break the coral skeletons).
Power head!!! Why didn't I think of that?? I've been using a turkey baster to *dust* my tank contents and it takes forever.
One question... I've never *blasted* the sand. Isn't there a risk of a spike if you disturb too much substrate? And what is "orp" ?
Thanks!!
Slayer I do the same with the powerhead. I have never combined it with the day with out lights but I will today. I also see things "perk up" after doing an agressive blasting with the powerhead. I do not blow the sand bed up but do mix it around a little with my tank scraper.
Yeah I've heard of it. I do it at least once a month too. Your tank will always get ambient light, unless you're in a room with no windows. Even yet if thats the case, it' d be better for your corals that way. Lots of people use this practice over on RC and I'm definitely one of them.
If my algae starts to get out of hand, I often turn my lights off for a day, sometimes two days. It's never hurt anything. But then again, I don't have a lot of pricey corals.
When I turn the lights back on, I leave the actinics on first for a couple hours so the fish are not *SHOCKED* by the light after being in the dark for awhile.
And, Tracey Lee... your 100th post. Congrats!
momma&papafishels
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">ORP stands for Oxidation-Reduction Potential, or commonly referred to as Redox. I'm one of the newer ones around here, so I can't tell you exactly why some people measure this, but I know what it stands for. I believe people using ozone like to keep tabs on their ORP readings.
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Thanks! I don't use ozone, but I'd like to eventually. I've heard it's quite beneficial.
Also, along the lines of the lights on/off, does everyone run their fuge light opposite their display lights (i.e., fuge light is on @ night when display is off and vice-versa)? I've heard this keeps the pH in balance.
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when my daylights go off in my fixture then my fuge lights come on and an hour later the actinics go off. then when the actinics go off i start dripping kalk
Yup, do it aswell, was told awhile ago by an experinced reefer that it was good practice, been doing it for about 8 months
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i have two powerheads tunze 6100 on a controller and a tunze nano 6045 when the actinics go off the 6100 goes off. if i shine a light into the tank the polyps extend and its all kind of night life going on. if i leave the light off for a couple days should i make sure the 6100 is running or will the SPS's be fine with the 6100 off for a couple days?
