Lights during cycle?

[0verfl0w]

Are they necessary during a cycle? Cycling with LR and LS

 

[snailheave]

no. but no harm with it on, except for a lil algae at the end

 

[acekjd83]

the cycle is meant to establish proper bacterial populations. these organisms are non-photosynthetic, so the lights will have practically no effect on them. however, any photosynthetic organisms that you had in the live rock will die off, negating many of the benefits of buying good live rock, so, imo, lights are a plus.

not to mention that many types of flora can be good indicators of where you are in the cycle, based on the growth patterns...

 

[0verfl0w]

That gives me about a month to recuperate from the initial hit.
How long would the organisms in the rock last w/o light?

 

[acekjd83]

some seeds and spores will survive, but most things will try to germinate in that time, and starve...