Help please on Lighting Schedule

[mandarin man]

i have heard so many diff ways so i want to hear what yall have to say. I have heard you need 12 hours on and 12 off which i do. But i put my blue actinic on with my white light at the same time, does the blue actinic need to be on alone before and after the white light goes on and off. If you dont understand i mean should the blue light be on without the white light at all? please replay ne info is appreciated thanx

 

[jackdp]

Its really up to you. Some people use the actinics to simulate a dawn and dusk, some people don't. I don't know that the fish or corals really notice. Besides, if you think naturally, the light at dawn and/or dusk is hardly the same color as an actinic fluorescent. If nothing else, it does let the tank critters have some time to adjust to lights on rather than just all at once. HTH

 

[Shultz]

I'm interested in this as well, would you say its better to have some form of light on all the time, ie moonlights or should there be a period of darkness for the tank?

Cheers Shelton.

 

[mandarin man]

shultz thats the same thing im trying to figure out i read that in the ocean it is never pitch dark and the fish need a time to adjust but the sun coming through the windows adjust them in the morning at night it might be a lil sudden going from light to dark but im still unsure of what to do right now i just turn it all on and off at once. but i might start trying actinic on before and after if i get another timer.

 

[Shultz]

Yeap, thats what I'd read...

I have 4 moonlights which are on approx 18hours verses 6 hours of my T5 twin atm, although I don't have any corals for now I don't know whether I should be looking at more like 12 hours for the T5?

Cheers Shelton.

 

[lando]

I do think you need some hours of total darkness. I do not have moonlights, but I run my actinics from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm and my 10,000K from noon to 10:00 pm.

 

[mandarin man]

i am going to switch into that ruitine of allowing the blue actinic lights on for an hour b4 and after the regular flurescents so i bought a timer but the timer does not allow me 2 have one light on and then switch the other on and then later let another one switch off do u only have one timer or do u have 2?

 

[lando]

i use two digital timers I got at Wal Mart for $14 each. I tried the non-digital ones but they never kept good time. It must have been the position I had them in. No roblems with digital ones.