Refugiums
- Thread starter foxface2
- Start date
mugg1977
Member
Mud will likely leach silicates and you will have diatoms out the wazoo! i would stay with the sand.
A few pieces of LR rubble and some macro algae (chaetomorpha species preferrably) will be nice for nitrate export (harvest a portion as it grows) and pod population.
You can either run the lights 24/7 or opposite cycle to your display lights. When I had the fuge on my 55, I ran the lights opposite cycle to the main lights and it worked well.
A few pieces of LR rubble and some macro algae (chaetomorpha species preferrably) will be nice for nitrate export (harvest a portion as it grows) and pod population.
You can either run the lights 24/7 or opposite cycle to your display lights. When I had the fuge on my 55, I ran the lights opposite cycle to the main lights and it worked well.
mugg1977
Member
The sand will need to settle a bit, but your water should clear up just fine ina day or 2. If you can, try running more mechanical filtration for a few days.
The alternate light cycle will help to stabilize pH while the display lights are off. The pH in the main tank tends to drop with the lights off, due to additioanl carbon dioxide build up. While this is typically not a large swing or anything to worry about, it is always better to keep i9t more stable.
As for the chaeto, it does not need 24/7 light. A lot of people who run other types of macro algae will run the lights 24/7 to keep the algae from "going sexual" (reproducing by offshooting spores) and fouling the tank. the 24/7 lights fool the algae into not reproducing. With chaeto there is very limited concern with this, so the alternate cycle should be fine.
The alternate light cycle will help to stabilize pH while the display lights are off. The pH in the main tank tends to drop with the lights off, due to additioanl carbon dioxide build up. While this is typically not a large swing or anything to worry about, it is always better to keep i9t more stable.
As for the chaeto, it does not need 24/7 light. A lot of people who run other types of macro algae will run the lights 24/7 to keep the algae from "going sexual" (reproducing by offshooting spores) and fouling the tank. the 24/7 lights fool the algae into not reproducing. With chaeto there is very limited concern with this, so the alternate cycle should be fine.
scopus tang
Active Member
Originally Posted by mkzimms
http:///forum/post/2495313
i hear this strategy a lot, but i'm curious as to what the benefit of alternating the fuge and DT light cycles is?
The benefit here is in minimizing the pH swings that your tank normally goes through. ph will usually drop some during the night and pick up during the day because of the build-up of CO2 levels in the tank. Plants photosynthesizing offsets this build-up, so if you run your refugium lights at night, the plants continue to use CO2 (when your alga in your DT tank is not), thus helping to prevent the pH swings. That said, the size of both your DT tank and your refugium also play a role here, and the larger the DT, the less the opposite cycle on the refugium will help.
http:///forum/post/2495313
i hear this strategy a lot, but i'm curious as to what the benefit of alternating the fuge and DT light cycles is?
The benefit here is in minimizing the pH swings that your tank normally goes through. ph will usually drop some during the night and pick up during the day because of the build-up of CO2 levels in the tank. Plants photosynthesizing offsets this build-up, so if you run your refugium lights at night, the plants continue to use CO2 (when your alga in your DT tank is not), thus helping to prevent the pH swings. That said, the size of both your DT tank and your refugium also play a role here, and the larger the DT, the less the opposite cycle on the refugium will help.