Is there such a thing as too much light?

Is there such a thing as too much light on your reef aquarium?

 

Yes I think so.

 

I would think so. Harder questions are "how much is too much?" and "what is the measuring criteria?"

 

I believe there is. You can bleach corals that way. If we had tanks as deep as the ocean in our homes then maybe no.....

 

well it is impossible to replicate the sun so i voted no, but i mean put a couple thousand watts over a 3 gallon nano and i suppose you could hurt some stuff.

 

Good point.

I think I'll start one along the lines of 'how many watts on your tank?'

 

I believe there can be too much light on a reef tank. But its mainly due to over heating issues imo. I could put a 400mh over a 3g , i just have to figure out how not to boil everything in there ;p

 

Probably yes but I think it depends not only on how it's measured, but the type. Watts per gallon is pretty much over at this point, with so many different types of light to choose from. I mean if I had a 10 gallon tank with a 100w incandescent bulb over it, that's 10 watts per gallon, right? That doesn't mean an adult clam is going to survive under it under any circumstance.

So to me you have to look at it for each individual choice.

How much is too much VHO?
How much is too much PC?
How much is too much T5?
How much is too much MH?

And then of course you have the combination MH's plus any of the other 3 I just listed. This is a very tough question to answer with all the different possible variables. IMO, anyways. But I voted yes, for what it's worth. ;D

 

I would think No!
Corals bleach from a shock of light change, if you were to acclimate them to the brighter light they would adjust. Just think of how bright the sun is and how shallow some of the reefs are.
Now if your putting a 1000w MH over a 10g tank then I think your going to have a heat problem or a chiller that runs all the time.

 

yes there is, this piggybacks with the watts poll. both are relative to each other. but more importantly is matching the criteria for life, check out the site:

Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Lateral Lines: Classification and Terminology For Reef Aquarium Lighting