Million Dollar Idea

[CluelessInNY]

Does anyone know of a system that introduces daytime lighting conditions on a clock? I don't mean a timer that simply turns lights on and off...I mean a lighting system that simulates morning, day, and dusk lgiht settings for a fish tank!
A soft light starts to glow at morning and then burns brightest by 2pm, and fades starting at 7pm until "night" when it turns off. You can set it to simulate lighting conditions for any part of the world, depending on where your fishies are from. I think it's a money maker waiting to be invented!

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

People with multiple bulbs, use a 2 switch timer or 2 timers, so they can turn on 1/2 the bulbs all day, the the other 1/2 the bulbs in the middle or a variation of this.

So it would be like main bulbs on from 10am-9pm
extra bulbs on from 1pm-5pm

or if all bulbs are the same, then just overlap in the middle for extra lighting(so they all have similar time on them)
on from 10am to 5pm
other bulbs on from 1pm to 9pm

Most fluorescents cant be used with dimmers so the way you describe it is not very feasible.

 

[ccCapt]

I think the newest generation of the Solaris LED's can be programmed so the lights come on gradually and slowly increase intensity.

 

[roka64]

I think you are right cccapt. I read about them in FAMA, let me see if I have that one at work.

+++EDIT+++
I found it.
pfolighting.com

It states, "The built in microprocessor allows the unit to dim the actinic blue LEDS, white LEDs, lunar actinic blue LEDs and lunar white LEDs independently from 0-100%. Light can be adjusted from 6.5K to 22K to set the ideal color temp. Sunrise, daylight, cloud cover, sunset and lunar cycle can all be set independently."

 

[Ziggy953]

The Solaris systems do exactly that. They will even simulate a cloudy day. They are rather pricey though. The guy I got the 150 from has them over his 10' 450g reef. He showed me some of the functionality of the lights. I was very impressed. They created enough lighting that he is getting growth of SPS corals that are near the bottom of his tank. They also do not generate heat. From what he was saying the company expects to get 10+ years out of the bulbs. Since you can adjust the spectrum with a touch of a button there isn't an issue with them shifting. If I had the money I would be putting them on my 120....

 

[roka64]

They do put off some heat. In fact the cheaper/older versions would burn out the circuit board. The solaris have heat sinks to dissipate the heat.

 

[Innovator]

I believe certain T5 systems are also capable of dimming.

 

[CluelessInNY]

Well, thre goes THAT idea! LOL! Once again, I return to my life of poverty

 

[Ziggy953]

Scott, the earlier models were built in the USA then they outsourced manufacturing to China and started causing problems. The company has since closed shop in China and started manufacturing in the USA again.

They do generate heat but nothing at all like a MH or even a VHO. They have fans on the end to pull air thourgh the unit to keep things cool. They also have a temp reading on the control panel that tells you how hot it is inside the unit. While I was at my friends place his never went above 97 and we got there late in the day.

 

[roka64]

Sweet!

 

[Ziggy953]

I agree! Keep those americans employed!

 

[leoslizards]

Years ago, I saw a similar device that did what you mentioned. It was used in reptile applications. Solaris systems do the same thing also. I like that fact that you can select your own color temp. Too bad they are so expensive.