Caulerpa light 24/7 or reverse?

pomme · 11-20-2003, 03:30 AM

Caulerpa light 24/7 or reverse?

I have had my tank set-up and running for a while now and i recently got some caulerpa in the sump, which i was lucky enough to be given.

I have heard that it can go sexual and die and then put back all the nasties that it has soaked up back into the tank!!!

I was told that you should have the light on for 24/7 and only on reverse cycle?

I see the benefits of it being on 24/7 as it will grow more and hopefully take up more of the nasties, and also it will not cause a ph crash when the lights go out on the main tank.

The benefit of having it on reverse cycle is that you put the lights to come on one hour before/after the main light come on/off, so in this way there wont be a ph crash in the tank.

I was told that it doesnt matter which way you have it as long as you 'pinch' it back every so often like once a week to once a fortnight bedending on growth.

So what do you guys do and what do you recommend?

Thanx,
Andrew

Geoff · 11-20-2003, 09:46 AM

i have mine on a reverse cycle. but i do not have that much in the refuge right now. it does help the pH swings. it also helps in controlling the algae in the main display also by using it a lot of the nutrients during the night when the display is off.

G~

pomme · 11-20-2003, 10:02 AM

yeah i have mine on 24/7 but i think i will leave it that way as the extneded lihght might give it more growth so thake up more nasties stops the ph swings and stops algae growing in the main tank, also it means i can look in the sump and see what i am doing, the best point

dwall174 · 11-20-2003, 10:14 PM

I got mine on opposite of the main tank! 16 hours for the fuge 10 hours main tank. From what I have read the macro algae needs some type of no light to complete the photosynthetic cycle.

pomme · 11-21-2003, 09:26 AM

what exactly is the photosynthetic cycle is this the part where they do most of the growing?

BuckWheat · 11-21-2003, 10:16 AM

I can't remember the last time I shut the light off in my sump over the caulerpa!

dwall174 · 11-21-2003, 11:32 AM

I knew that someone would have to ask why! Anyway from what I understand about it. The plants need a relax period where they regenerate after creating engery that they get from the sun. Check HERE about 1/2 way through they talk about the light & dark cycles!

pomme · 11-21-2003, 01:35 PM

cool dwall very good on the info side, it has def made me decide on the reverse cycle. thanx andrew

Reefdude5 · 11-21-2003, 04:56 PM

Good to know!

FISH · 11-21-2003, 08:49 PM

I 've got a 50 gal fuge that I run the lights 24/ 7 and a 15 gal that I run about 5 hrs before main tank lights come on and run another 4 hrs after the main tank lights come on.
The caulerpa never goes sexual in either fuge. I harvest a few large handfulls about every month or 2.
This has been set up this way for about a year and a half.

http://community.webtv.net/MarkPelski/INTHEWALL120GAL

Pez Vela · 11-22-2003, 12:55 AM

Like Geoff and others, I chose to go opposite lighting with a slight overlap with my display tank lighting.

It is true that 24/7 lighting can increase the growth of your Caulerpa, but that is exactly what leads the algae to switch to sexual reproduction. What happens is the Caulerpa runs out of room to grow and therefore switches to sexual reproduction, releasing spores into the system, turning the tank green. When this happens it deprives the tank of oxygen, causing the tank to "crash" so to speak._This can also happen if there is a shortage of iron, just like garden plants. By leaving your lights on 24/7, it just means frequent (more than you think) harvesting of the Caulerpa.

What I do is routinely harvest the Caulerpa before it outgrows the refugium & add a small dose of iron directly to the refugium every month._ I have never had a problem! But I chose opposite lighting to slow the amount needed to harvest.

M

pomme · 11-22-2003, 02:48 AM

humm i think i masy have to get some iron additive as i am not adding any and my readings show that there is none i there!

dgasmd · 11-22-2003, 04:46 PM

I ahve a 100 gal refugium lit 24/7. I used to harvest about 1/2 of a salt bucket full every other week. Since I started using phosban (phophate removing media) and started doing the 50 gal weekly water changes (total system vol. is 560 gal), the caulerpa has almost stopped growing. It has been a month since the last time I pulled any out and you can barely tell any growth since. It has been 5-6 months since I set up the refugium.

pomme · 11-22-2003, 05:06 PM

what would you say has caused it to stop growing then, the lack of iron? are you worried about this?

dgasmd · 11-22-2003, 08:24 PM

Phosphates are the limiting growth factor here. I am very pleased actually because like the caulerpa, the bryopsis I ahd growing in the tank has nearly been extinct as well.
This is growing so much better than I anticipated. I will be tearing down my entire system in a couple of months due to moving and I am rethingking what I will be doing then. I may take the 100g refugium out and replace it with a 300g feeding vat. Then, put all the rock from the refugium there along with a bunch of rock I am taking out from the tank and use that to house some fish I love, but don't want in my display tank. Queen angel, eel, and maybe even a frogfish. We'll see.
I am a tru believer in this phosphate remover stuff. I guess the most popular one in england is probably rowaphos from germany. It is available here, but it cost a tons.

Caulerpa light 24/7 or reverse?

pomme

pomme

Reef-ugium Lighting