Live Rock without proper lighting = problems ?

[mling]

Following the idea the the more live rock the better, for natural filteraton.
Will live rock placed in a sump, without proper lighting, cause problems ?
My main 156G tank already has more than enought rock. My sump is a 40G breeder.

 

[Anonymous]

No, the bacteria that facilitates the process doesn't need light to work. But, if the liverock has light-loving organisms on it you could get an ammonia spike as they die off from lack of lighting in the sump. Also, you should be aware that liverock in the sump can become a trap for detritus and other guck that rots in the tank. I used to do water changes through my sump so it was easy to vacuum out any gack that accumulated.

 

[Anonymous]

If you already have more than enough I wouldn't add any to the sump - If I did add some to the sump I would light it and make it a sort of refugeum - as long as it is after the filter there shouldn't be much detritus buildup.

 

[Anonymous]

I kept some in my sump. It had a regular florescent light in it. The light was more for me so I could see what I was doing than it was for the rock. All the good stuff you need for filtration from the rock does not require light.

 

[Anonymous]

Following the idea the the more live rock the better, for natural filteraton.
Will live rock placed in a sump, without proper lighting, cause problems ?
My main 156G tank already has more than enought rock. My sump is a 40G breeder.

IMHO yes. (or at least possibly)

The algae on the live rock is extremely important and anything that degrades that can degrade the effects of the live rock at balancing out and stabilizing the system.

but in this case "proper" lighting is sufficient light for algae to grow and not lighting required from some corals.

my .02

 

[Anonymous]

Following the idea the the more live rock the better, for natural filteraton.
Will live rock placed in a sump, without proper lighting, cause problems ?
My main 156G tank already has more than enought rock. My sump is a 40G breeder.

IMHO yes. (or at least possibly)

The algae on the live rock is extremely important and anything that degrades that can degrade the effects of the live rock at balancing out and stabilizing the system.

but in this case "proper" lighting is sufficient light for algae to grow and not lighting required from some corals.

my .02

I don't think that makes sense. Live rock is mostly used for the bacterial habitat that it provides both on it and inside of it, and works perfectly well for that in the dark.

Does the OP need more, nah. Live rock can shed detritus and that will begin to build up in the sump and be harder to remove. If you feel there is enough in the tank, you don't need more. I prefer to run an empty sump if I can, which also equates to a larger water volume which I like (rock displaces water).