Aquarium Lighting - what types & length of Exsposure

[Davekyn]

Hi,
I've currently been running my aqua light on a 12 hour cycle and was wondering if I should back it off to a 10 hour cycle.

I've also been giving some thought to artinic lighting as well as Moonlights.

Could anybody that has been using all three types of lighting in thier aquarium, please pass on some helpfull information?

What would be the best hours to run each light and in what sequence?

I was told Artinic lighting helps to bring out the colours of fish and is best setup on a automated system as are all lights. (seting-up only during peak observations hours will save on power use) As the lighting itself has nothing to offer other than helping to deepen colours I figure evening time around the telly before The moon lights set in would be best.

Moonlights- Seems they are advertising that ones fish actually benifit (less stress) as well as live rock and the such. (I wonder if this helps plants) Are moonlights relatively cheap to run?

Basicaly any comments would be good, but I mainly wish to hear what type of light cycles are being used and in what sequence they are switched on & off. The benifits, power usage ect.

Dont be shy
Cheers

 

[Jchillin]

The best way to think of aquarium lighting periods is to emulate what nature does, that is to use your lighting in the exact same way that nature does. Since I have a heavily planted tank, I want to "lengthen" the daylight hours, so 12 hours is my norm. This is usually from 9am to 9pm. I then put on the moonlights until sun rise. Using a timer is a good idea if you cannot maintain the schedule manually.

There are a variety of moonlight sources. I went cheap and got mine from DrsFosterSmith.com. Most folks use LED's attached to the light strip or hood. If you want to DIY, Radioshack usually has all of the equipment needed (lights, diodes, etc).

I don't know if fish benefit from the lights (I know I do ). Plants will not benefit AFAIK.

 

[Davekyn]

Thanks Jchillin,
mine are set to those times as well. I,ll check that site out now. Do you have a dimmer to emulate moon cycles?

 

[noncentric]

There are also a lot of EBay sellers that sell moonlights (aka lunar lights) and moonlight kits. Some will also do custom orders if you contact them directly. I've heard that Radio Shack's prices are much more expensive than the same materials on EBay.

Good luck!