Cycling my Tank

[labrat31]

One more question folks, should I leave the lights off when cycling my tank?

Dr. Rick

[gregt]

If my lights are ready when I cure the rock, then I turn them on, if they aren't ready yet, then I don't worry too much about that either.

[Drew]

Hi Dr. Rick,

Many people say to leave them off when cycling to avoid algae blooms. However, I disagree with this, as I feel that it is worth a little more algae to preserve many of the photosynthesic organisms which are living on the rock. Without light many of these will perish. HTH

Drew

[Alice]

I agree with Drew, plus, with the lights on you get to look for kewl critters on the rocks. You certainly don't need to run a full photoperiod nor MH but things will pop out on the rock (if they're there) in response to light.