Lighting Hours

[ADsnail]

Thanks to this site I no longer leave the lights on in tanks for 10-12 hours a day. There weren't any problems from it but I've cut down to 6 hrs/day.

Questions--
What about rainy dreary days, not dark enough for rooms to be lit but the tanks are in darkness? Leave lights on longer or give them a short 6 hour day?

Not that I've seen anyone freak out and go darting around in a panic, but would snapping lights on/off for 4 hours at a time cause them to be confused or anxious?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Unless your tank is sat in direct sunlight i would expect 90% of the light in your tank is from your light fitting. Fluctuations of that 10% isnt going to make much difference.

 

[ColdKoi]

Yea I’d have to agree with that, if the tank isn’t getting direct sunlight, I don’t see ambient room lighting playing much of a role at all.

There’s really no difference in my tanks between winter and summer (4hrs daylight and summer 18hrs daylight at the extremes). Most of my tanks are near windows, but do not get direct sunlight

 

[ADsnail]

Right, I need to make my peace with how happy they are without so much bright light vs how much I enjoy watching them all lit up like a TV set. Thanks

 

[ColdKoi]

Very true. But depending on the scenario you can sometimes find that happy balance where the tank is lit up the way you like without having a massive algae issue

I also like mine lit up like there’s a nuclear reaction taking place above the tank lol

I have my lights on my 75g come on at 75% in the morning for a few hours (get to see the tank nice and light before going to work) then they dim down to 50% through mid day. Then once again back to full steam mid afternoon through the evening with the other 3 led strips turning on also.

This wasn’t manageable for the first few months with the tank as algae would go nuts, but now the tank has seasoned this ~12hr schedule gets the plants going crazy, the tank is bright and algae is almost a thing of the past. I actually almost want more algae as the snails and plecos are more than capable of keeping up with growth.

Lots of people swear by going with a split 4+4h lighting schedule too, 4h in the morning while you’re around, then 4h again in the evening when you’re home. Apparently it helps a lot with algae growth even with high intensity light by keeping the light-on period to 4h or less at a time.

 

[ADsnail]

I'm interested in your dimmer switch lighting on a timer. I have one tank where everyone gathers in the corner closest to a window to watch sunrise and sunset; I leave the slat shades open a bit for their gradual daylight experience. I'd much rather have their lighting replicate this than snapping the brights on and off suddenly. What is your system? Is it self-made or something that one buys all-in-one, ready to attach?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Fluval aquasky.

 

[ADsnail]

Thanks! Question: is this governed by an app, or one's phone in some way? I'm looking for something not phone related. More analog, I guess I should say.

 

[ColdKoi]

Yes I use a fluval aquasky for the dimming in the 75g. The rest of the lighting for the 75 and the other tanks are led strips that are just using on/off timers.

With the aquasky, you set up the schedule on your phone, Send it to the light and it keeps repeating that pattern till power is lost or you change it. It doesn’t require the phone to be connected to work once it’s set up

 

[Aiken Drum]

Thanks! Question: is this governed by an app, or one's phone in some way? I'm looking for something not phone related. More analog, I guess I should say.

If you can find the older version of the aquasky its controlled with a remote push button pad. Some of the pet stores around here are still selling the older versions.

 

[ADsnail]

I'll look into this. Thank you for your replies

 

[ADsnail]

I did find the push button pad aquasky locally and bought it.

Oddly, same price as the new app variety. Neither cost much, so what I mean by "oddly" is that I'm surprised the new versions cost as little as the relatively outdated one (not the other way around, as in "Why would anyone pay so much for an outmoded variety?").
Both are reasonable, which makes a level playing field in regard to personal choices.

Thanks for pointing this version out to me. I guess I tend to think that everything is super-tech driven these days, which I don't go for; it does pay to ask for alternatives out there.

 

[Aiken Drum]

They sell them for the same price in the fish store i mentioned too. They only carry old stock in the physical store and sell the newer version online at the same price. I guess when they have sold off their old stock they will start to put the newer version on the shelves. Its not a store that i would expect to know there is a difference between the two. They will just put what they are sent onto the shelves and sell it at the price they are told.