Caulerpa light 24/7 or reverse?

[pomme]

Caulerpa light 24/7 or reverse?

I have had my tank set-up and running for a while now and i recently got some caulerpa in the sump, which i was lucky enough to be given.

I have heard that it can go sexual and die and then put back all the nasties that it has soaked up back into the tank!!!

I was told that you should have the light on for 24/7 and only on reverse cycle?

I see the benefits of it being on 24/7 as it will grow more and hopefully take up more of the nasties, and also it will not cause a ph crash when the lights go out on the main tank.

The benefit of having it on reverse cycle is that you put the lights to come on one hour before/after the main light come on/off, so in this way there wont be a ph crash in the tank.

I was told that it doesnt matter which way you have it as long as you 'pinch' it back every so often like once a week to once a fortnight bedending on growth.

So what do you guys do and what do you recommend?

Thanx,
Andrew

 

[loganj]

AFAIK, lighting it 24/7 lessens the chances that it will go sexual and die on you. Mine is in the tank with some of the coral frags and is lit on the regular schedule. I mow it about once a week and, so far, haven't had any problems.

 

[pomme]

yeah i have mine lit for 24/7 as it also means i can see things when i look in the cabinet, another benefit . What should i do if i want the caulerpa to grow more as at the mo there is only a little clump and i would like it to cover all the area i have set out for it?
also when i do mow it do i 'pinch' the whole leaf off, so at the stem, or just part of the leaf?

 

[loganj]

Good luck trying to stop if from growing. That stuff is the aquatic version of kudzu. I just pinch a few inches off about once a week. You don't want to cut it back to nothing.

 

[pomme]

cool thanx for the advice