Moonlight in the Aquarium – Simulating the Lunar Cycle
Moonlight in the aquarium: why the lunar cycle matters — and how every GHL luminaire reproduces it Reef life follows the moon. Most aquariums ignore it: the night light, if there is one, is the same every night. Here is why the lunar cycle is worth reproducing, and how it works with every GHL luminaire. Why the moon matters underwater Once a year, in their spawning season, many stony corals release their gametes in the same few nights — often a few nights after a full moon. Numerous reef fish, crustaceans and polychaete worms show the same lunar periodicity in their reproduction. Recent research indicates that an important cue may not simply be the full moon itself, but the sequence of light and darkness around it, including the dark hours between sunset and moonrise in the nights that follow. Moonlight also shapes nocturnal life in a less obvious way: visually…