Does the live rock need light when curing?
NO, not during the first couple weeks. The ammonia battle will take precedent over lighting at first. Plus you don’t want to start algae growing before you can have grazers on it. After a week or two, a little bit of fluorescent light won’t hurt. A 4-hour … maybe tops … photoperiod to start. Ease it slowly into a photoperiod. It’s not advised to “hit it” with halide for a month at least. And then, only a couple hours a day for a week or two. Slowly increase it over the second month. So, light is okay after the initial first two weeks, but not the same amount as acroporas or clams. Some people burn their rock by giving too much light too soon. Do not give more than four to six hours of light during curing and that is fluorescent, VHO, compact fluorescent of actinic and/or 50-50’s, but not 10-20 K’s (halides) during curing.
