Should I increase my photo period?

I am running a 250 watt halide for 7 hours a day. Most people seem to run a 10 hour photo period.

Over a years time, I am losing the equivalence of 46 days of lighting. I am wondering if I can find even more growth by increasing my lighting by 30%. Light and growth isn't a linear correlation, but if it were, that means I am losing 30% growth.

 

I say try it.

Obviously increasing the period in small increments to your full time?

There's a reefer near me, Fabulous center overflow tank, 360 degree walk around, that uses his DIY ultra powerful LED's 12/12! And you should see the coral he grows!

 

I was thinking an hour a week would be sufficient. I have a new bulb in the email too. The tank has been under the halides for 9 months, so intensity isn't an issue.

 

Your corals only need 5-6 hours of light. Anything more actually lessens their growth, as they must then devote energy to cellular repair. Science! Notice that between 5-6 hours of light, the specific activity or growth decreases measurably...that extra energy is instead used for cellular repair. Trust me, at one point I had 6 T5 + 86 .5w LEDs on a 13 hour day (with 6 phases of 'step-up/step-down' to simulate dawn/dusk.) Now I run 4T5 with half the LEDs on a 6 hour cycle. Much better growth. If you are truly interested in growing your corals, look into the 4 hours on 8 hours off cycle (two coral day cycles per actual 24 hour day). Many coral farms use this method. I did for a while as well with good results... only my tank is in my bedroom and my girlfriend didn't like bright lights coming on early every morning...