Just got Nova Extreme Pro - How should I set timers?

[littlea8]

I just received my nova extreme pro for my 46 bowfront aquarium. I also bought a power center with one timer for both night and day. I'm really not sure how I should set the timers. For the Nova Extreme Pro the light pattern is as follows

Switch 1: 3 Whites, 1 Blue
Switch 2: 2 Blues

How should I set these for the timers. I know for sure that I should have switch 1 on from 4pm-12am for 8 hour daytime lights. My questions is how should I time switch 2? If I plug it into the night timers it will run at all hours when the daytime lights are not on (ex. 12am-4pm which is 16 hours)...is it okay to leave two blue lights on for 16 hours of the day?

 

[austinsdad]

Blue an hour by itself. Then white and blue together for 8 hrs. Then blue again for the last hour by itself again. That's my preference for a 10 hour lighting day.

 

[littlea8]

I wanted to do that...the thing is theres night and day timers.....and for some reason one of them has to be on...so when i have them both plugged in...if day timers arent on the blue will be for some reason...?

 

[goisles1]

Blue an hour by itself. Then white and blue together for 8 hrs. Then blue again for the last hour by itself again. That's my preference for a 10 hour lighting day.

I have the Nova Ext Pro.. and my schedule is identical to Austinsdad

 

[littlea8]

its not the nova...its the timer im guessing...for some reason the day or the night timer have to be on...neither of them can be off

 

[mr86mister]

Yeah, it's the timer. Is it the timer that is like a power strip with two yellow and two blue sockets? Mine does the same, it's a pain in the butt. I am going to buy a separate one soon to fix the problem. If you can get us some pictures of the lighting over your tank. I'm curious to see what it looks like. I have a 46 as well.

 

[goisles1]

oh man.. sorry..didn;t realize what you were saying.. That Sucks... I mean.. What's the sense of a dual timer setup if you can't work them indepenently?

Well.. You could always run some moonlights off the second timer and just buy a 3rd plugin timer for you Regular Lights.

Side note on that fixture and Current:

one of my 10k lamps died at the 2 months old mark. I emailed Current, and they sent me a 10k and a Actinic Bulb. At the time, 2 bulbs were out but I knew only one was bad and they shared the same circuit. Anyway, I told Current this in my email and they said not to worry about troubleshooting, they were going to just send me both bulbs. They just arrived today a week after my email. Nice to see good customer service

 

[melosu58]

Moved to General Hardware and equipment discussion.

 

[Tank2379]

I actually switch mine around for better coral growth 3 blues +1 White then the Daylight on...

 

[goisles1]

I actually switch mine around for better coral growth 3 blues +1 White then the Daylight on...

So wait.. in total, 5 blues and 1 white?

 

[Tank2379]

You have 5 Bulbs or 6? I have 3 blues and 3 whites. Instead of the 2 blues I switch them with 2 whites, I put the other 2 blues were the two whites where so I have it to come on with 3 blues plus 1 white and then after and hr the other 2 whites

 

[goisles1]

You have 5 Bulbs or 6? I have 3 blues and 3 whites. Instead of the 2 blues I switch them with 2 whites, I put the other 2 blues were the two whites where so I have it to come on with 3 blues plus 1 white and then after and hr the other 2 whites

AHHH.. makes sense.. you get 1 extra blue and 1 white for 2 hours more a day.

Right now, my bulbs are setup the way the manual recommended. I also hear the Giesemann bulbs blow away the Current ones (at least according to my LFS).

 

[mr86mister]

I too have heard that they are amazing bulbs and really put out a good amount of PAR and the correct colors.

 

[Tank2379]

Also the ATI Blue + Special also are good to use as well

 

[Tank2379]

but I heard with using 4 blue ATI Blue + Bulbs and one 14K 50/50 and one daylight would Bring that special POP to your corals

 

[littlea8]

I have the nova extreme pro...its 3 whites and 3 blues....but the way they turn on is:

Switch #1: 3 whites, 1 blue
Switch #2: 2 blues

I bought a dual timer tho so its all good right now. Now I run the blues from 2pm-3pm then all them together from 3pm-11pm and then just my blues again from 11pm-12am.

My next question is...since theres no lunar lights with the nova extreme pro, what type of lights can i use for this. I want something i can leave on all night when the rest of the lights are on...but still low enough in brightness for me to sleep (tank is in my bed room)..i also have no glass top or canopy as i heard its better...any ideas?

 

[thincat]

Get some sort of LED light. I got one from HomeDepot. Worked for me. Just run it on another timer. Do not get any Red lights as this is not good for your corals...