Moon lights for frag tank

[mling]

I leave the moon lights in my 156 Reef on till about 11pm each night.  I believe fishes need some good old "dark" time and rest.

 

I just set up a frag tank and I was wondering if I should leave the moon light on all night.   Would it not help it grow more with longer exposure to light ? 

[trockafella]

I seriously doubt moonlights are growing anything. And if theyre bright enough to grow corals, well there not moonlights.

[mling]

So what if I leave the white lights on 7 x 24 ?

[trockafella]

Corals in the ocean aren't under lights 24/7. I would imagine non-stop light wouldn't be good for it. Im sure someone can give you a more scientific answer, but I wouldn't even consider constant lighting on them.

[sen5241b]

Moonlight has been definitely linked to spawning in some corals. Not sure how much moonlights actually simulate real moon light.

[Origami]

So what if I leave the white lights on 7 x 24 ?

The studies that I've read indicate that you need a period of darkness for coral growth. Here's a thread that you may find interesting that is on this topic.

[matt]

corals need time to recover....24x7 normal lighting not advisable. I think there have been studies.

 

My wife likes to leave on some led holiday lights all night in our family room...and it seems like there is always a holiday. This is somewhat ambient lighting for the tank...nothing major...moonlight basically. No harm done.

[dbartco]

It has been shown that there is more calcification during the dark hours. Seems it is energy generation/storage during the day, deposition and growth at night.

[Jason Rhoads]

If you really want to experiment with photo period for increased growth, look into decreasing the the time the lights are on, but increasing the frequency (e.g. 4 hours on 4 hours off). I think there are studies on growth rates when manipulating photo period online. But, I am too lazy to look right now.