[Wes]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bob 1000 How has it been a bad thing???

for me, my colors deepened after shortening the photoperiod..

Here is another thing to think about. Studies show a decline in photosynthesis during the time of day when the sun is the brightest. Leaving your lights on 24rs a day could possibly slow your growth... I found this on reefcentral.

Corals growing in shallow reef lagoons are exposed to very high levels of light, especially during summer. Excess light can cause damage to the photosystems. Most photosynthetic organisms have a range of mechanisms to dissipate excess light and protect themselves from absorbing too much light. These mechanisms include down-regulation of photosynthesis, non-photochemical quenching and use of the xanthophyll cycle.



We found that three species of coral (Acropora aspera, Goniastrea sp. and Porites sp.) which grow in the shallow lagoon of Heron Island, all displayed an apparent mid-day down-regulation. The above figure shows the change in electron transport rate in Acropora aspera as related to changes in diurnal light. The decline in photosynthetic activity corresponded with the period of highest light. During the afternoon the photosynthetic activity recovered, this implies that this was a regulatory response, not damage from the high light..... by UTS Science