How much light for how long

[FAHZ]

I have a question on lighting live rock. My tank has been up for a week and a half. I added a couple of peices of cured LR from the LFS to start the tank cycling and have had a Diatom algae outbreak. Now I have the bulk of my LR I want to add.

 

I have cured the LR for a week and a half in a 90 Qt cooler with the top off with two air stones and 100 watt heater @ 78 degrees. I made three 100% water changes and the LR went to 0 ammonia after one week.

 

Now my question is how much light and for how long each day.

 

 

 

 

ViaAqua 18 gallon glass aquarium

LV 680 Powerhead

Undergravel filter

20# crushed coral gravel

25# LR

PL compact lighting 2x36 7100k white 12000k blue

50 watt Ebo Jager heater

[reefist]

I have had good results with a 12 hour photoperiod using PCs. A 1-2 hour dawn and dusk period with blues only and 8-10 hours of daylight (in combination with the blues of course) usually works well. Gradually increase the photoperiod over time so that your tanks inhabitants can adjust to the light. There is some controversy as to whether or not there are any benefits to having a dawn and dusk period. It seems more natural to me to have a gradual increase and decrease in light and, besides, it looks really cool!

[Dave ESPI]

A few issues.

 

The CC is going to cause mulm and detritus problems. CC will also NOT buffer water very well. Much of the useable CA and other bicarbonates are already converted to a "used" state and when released, do not benifit a tank.

 

The UGF is also not a great idea unless you plan on tearing your tank down once or twice a year and cleaning it completely. It will give rise to nitrates that you cant beat down not to mention other potential problems.

 

The lighting is ok. A 14 hour ON cycle is acceptable.

 

Id suggest letting the tank run for 2 months before addding ANYTHING.

Period.

 

good luck.

[FAHZ]

Thanks for the reply.

 

Have so much live rock left over I'm setting up another 10 gallon.

This on will be done without an UGF and sand instead. Still unsure on how many hours of light to start out with and time frame going up to 12-14 hours per day. will post pics of 18 setup.

 

Fahz