Less or more?

[Caseyoidae]

I recently watched a video by Mr. Saltwater tank that showed various big name reefers like World wide corals and Julian Sprung's tanks and it mentioned that they have very different lighting schedules. Some as little as five hours a day and some up to twelve. I was surprised to see that some coral companies are on the lower side of this when I would think long light periods = growth, which= profit. Ignoring tank parameters is one better than the other? Or would longer light periods produce more growth and less color? Or, something of this nature. Thanks!

 

[recess62]

Take a look at this

 

[Caseyoidae]

Thank you! Amazing explanation!

 

[Nano sapiens]

Alkalinity, light, water flow & nutrient levels (not touched on in Dana's video) are all interlinked and many variations are possible to achieve a thriving reef tank (corals are quite adaptable when given enough time to adjust). The 'Masters' have just figured out which of these combinations work well for their particular systems.

In coral aquaculture, the best energy-to-growth ratio is optimal, which is often a lot lower that reef aquarists think. When the corals are marketable size, then they are acclimated to higher light which develops the wonderful fluorescent and non-fluorescent pigmentation that reef aquarists dersire.