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Unread 06/04/2011, 06:53 AM   #4
redneckgearhead
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Tulsa
Posts: 505
Quote:
Originally Posted by salty joe View Post
I think photoinhibition would be interesting to look at. Everybody seems to run their scrubber lit for 18 hr a day. Maybe in some setups this is ideal. I suspect that with intensely lit scrubbers this is not the case. An O2 senser plumbed to the scrubber drain would reveal what is going on.

I think two scrubbers where only one is lit at a time would be the most efficient use of electricity. Use the O2 senser to determine when photoinhibition begins and set a light timer accordingly. So when photoinhibition begins the light goes out on that scubber and the other scrubber gets lit up. On the runup to photoinhibition, growth is fantastic, then growth drops like a rock, no matter how much light (electricity) you throw at it.

I base my opinion on this link http--www.int-res.com-articles-meps-134-m134p207.pdf

It is a study of Cheato, but it is mentioned that most marine algae behave in a similar manner.
Ive read a similar idea, so on my scrubber I started to run my lights on 4 hour intervals off for 4 hours, I have since raised it to 5 and 3 and It seems to get a little better growth now. But since this thread is being started maybe I should start adjusting the light schedule and measuring how much growth I can get with each one. And where would we get an 02 sensor for saltwater?


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75 gallon soon to be 90 gallon reef

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