Questions about an Interupted Light Cycle; algae?

[Colin_BC]

Well, I've looked around and seen a few people have mentioned interupted light cycles in other posts, but it has never been the subject of a post. I'm hoping to gather more info on this subject for the benefit of myself and others.

First off, is it true that interupting the light cycle, say with a 3 hour period of darkness in the middle of the day, will reduce alage growth withou hindering plant growth?

Secondly, What sort of a timeframe should the lights be on/off/on/etc..? I currently have my lights on and off in 12 hour cycles. Should I still keep the lights on and off for 12 hours each, but interupted? I was thinking something like having the lights on fom 7:30am-1:30pm (6 hours), off 1:30pm-4:30pm (3 hours), on 4:30-10:30pm (6 hours), and off from 10:30pm-7:30am (9 hours). It still makes for 12 hours on and 12 hours off. Or should the night period still be 12 hours or more and just cut the day period short by putting a 3 hour dark period in the middle (12 off, 4.5 on, 3 off, 4.5 on, repeat)?

Thirdly, does this have any ill effetcs on the fish?

Colin

 

[kenneth_kpe]

well recently ive taken the consideration of having the time out for the lights because it gets really hot here at this time of the year and during lunch time the temp of my water gets pretty high so i time it so that around 11am - 2pm the lights are off

but i too want to know if it is ok for plants and bad for algae, btw is 12 hours the right time for lighting your plants ? i only light mine around 8 hours a day

 

[Colin_BC]

I have read of many people using differing daylight periods from 8-12 hours, however 12 hours probably is an hour or two too much for most plants. I currently have it at this (9am-9pm) so I can see the tanks with the lights on for a bit when I get home from work and before when I wake up before I go to work. I work nights. I usually sleep from 1:30pm-8pm. I like to be able to watch my tanks after work as well as the hour before I go to work (8-9pm). If I were to use an interupted light cycle, I could probably have the lights on for the right times witout promoting more algae growth.

Kenneth, in the summer time it gets quite hot here as well. I think this year I too will have to enforce an afteronoon lights-out for the tanks. It's been getting warmer and warmer each year here. I remember in the mid-to-late 90's our summer temps outside rarely climbed above 27 degrees Celcius. Last year our summer temps were in the very high 30's, if not sitting right at or above 40 deg C. Last year for most the summer the temps in my tanks climbed into the mid-90's by ealry afternoon. Apparently this summer is supposed to be worse...

Colin

 

[Colin_BC]

Does anyone else have any thoughts/experiences they wish to share on this subject?

Colin

 

[Aulonochromis]

I've heard it can help if your co2 level is low to have a couple hours break in the middle of the photoperiod.

 

[Discomafia]

I first read about it in this thread by gf225.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=60010&hl=

Apparently, lot of people, even on other forums, know of this method, and it will work if your algea isn't too out of control...

I do the same, giving my plants 2 hours rest after 2 hours of light, then a 8 hour uninterupted stretch... My tank lights are on for just 10 hours, as thru my research, I have found that to be the best. Instead of cutting down on feeding or making a 2 hr gap, I think that just reducing the hours of light is enough.

HTH

edit - no ill effects for the fish, mine don't seem any worse for it. As for why it works, I think it has something to do with the fact that plants don't need a lot of time to photosyntisise, but algae does. The two or three hour gap in between is meant to put off the algae from growing, but the plants aren't affected as they can photosyntisise after a little while after the lights are on.

How long after lights are turned on? I don't know...

 

[kenneth_kpe]

well for me i didn't notice a slow down in plant growth for the momment,they still climbing up em plants and the riccia is still starting to grow (just a week old though). I think the best benefit for me for the time is the temp really, if i leave it on it reaches around 34DEG celcius, turning it off gives the tank a few deg's down during noon,

with the algae however i cant tell yet, so far i haven't noticed added algae growth yet

BTW disco i redone my tank from scratch ! the plants were getting too big so i researched a lot and purchased plants that keep small or grow upward haha

 

[Discomafia]

When was all this? Care to share any pics? Really interested in taking a look at your riccia, I always wanted some but it was too hard to find. Do you plan to carpet it, or attach it to wood/rocks or...

What plants did you have in your old setup? Did they really grow that big? Also, how's your DIY CO2 coming along? Or did you start using the reactor you bought really cheap?

 

[Yenko]

I use a 2-hour interrutuption in a 10 hour photoperiod for my 10 gallon planted, I may switch to 3 hours soon. The alage was under control before but I notice a big improvement already; there was no noticable change, and the fish are not bothered by it; enough diffuse sunlight hits the tank to keep the fish in daytime mode without allowing anything to photosynthesise.