You can read the full story of how I used that technique here in the Feb 2002 SeaStar, titled Saving a Reef: http://www.utahreefs.com/SeaStar/wmasSeaStar02Feb.pdf
Fish don't need light and they can go without food for a week or more without any problem. Stopping the feeding for 4 days and feeding half as much after that is actually a way to reduce algae because it eliminates the nutrients that feed algae and makes the fish hungy enough to eat the algae.
The Actinic lights can be left on longer because that is the spectrum of light that coral need most and it does not grow nuisance algae so well. Refugium lights can be left on 24/7 for periods of time because that is where you want algae to grow so it does not grow as well in the main display.
Hope this helps