LED question

[MaximusZA]

Hi Guys,

Quick couple of questions. I have recently purchased an awesome LED unit which has a lunar cycle so at night when the whites go off the blues stay on and a different percentage even night. The blues are on at a very low percentage highest is 15%. My question is will the extra light at night aid algae growth? How do blue lights affect algae? Should I turn off the lunar cycle? Is it too much light?

Thanks
Maximus

 

[Andre@ReefAquatics]

No a light blue shimmer will not promote algae growth. Algae loves the 4000K-65000K spectrum of light.
Algae will also grow in high nutrients and lighting in the spectrum above as they are plants. they stop photosynthesizing at night (their rest period)

Don't stress to much about the algae you will see a little extra growth with the intense lighting but as you system stabilizes again it will pass like diatoms does.

There are vast opinions on this topic but that the way I see it.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[pkc]

Any light will aid algae growth, but the light strength you are referring to is of no concern.
Algae is the most essential life form in your reef aquarium, if you don’t want abundant forms that you do not like, extract their food supply, it’s that easy!
One of the worst times of stress for your aquarium fish is in total darkness.
They don’t actually sleep, not like we do!
They remain what we call when compared with our life styles, partially awake always!
So at lights out time in the aquarium your fish lay at rest and each and every crab or brittle sea star that brushes past them scares the hell out of them which equates to stress and some go into anemones at that time or are damaged on corals or jump out and there is a body on the floor the next day.
The worst part of laying on the substrate is that velvet goes through their photosynthetic stage which mostly in and on the surface of the substrate and white spot lives in the surface of the substrate in wait for stress signals to attack.
It’s not uncommon for fish to awaken? with parasites attached after being on that substrate.
My tanks have photosynthetic lights on for 16 hours and a weak light to see and be able to swim safely if need be and it is on 24/7,that has been the case for many years and I do not get parasites.
Your moonlight setting is good!
Oh sorry I forgot,leds rule!
lol

 

[Charl_Stanhope]

I actually wanted to start a thread the other day on how important light at night is to your system? Im referring to the blue moonlights.I have tried reading up on them on GOOGLE but as always, I have been getting mixed responses. How bright must they be and how bright is too bright > if that makes sense.