SWSCJ
Aquarium Advice Freak
My lobo and doughnut feed early morning right before and when the lights first come on. Welso feeds late afternoon/evening. Zoas 2 hrs after the lights come on in the morning. They're like kids !
how long to keep lights in?
- Thread starter bigben2057
- Start date
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mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
But this isn't the Caribbean. Extended photoperiods effect all sorts of things like spawning, mating, even flowering and and seed germination in plants.
SWSCJ
Aquarium Advice Freak
It's the Caribbean in my 450.
SWSCJ
Aquarium Advice Freak
We strongly recommend you run your lights on a timer(s). The plug-and-play kits we described above sometimes come with an integral timer, or they ship with external timers. If your lights don’t come with timers, get them. An alternative is to use an aquarium controller to control your lights. However you do it, you will want to have your lights on between 12 and 14 hours per day.
If you use a combination of lights, you could program your actinics to come on for an hour or so before the full spectrum fluorescents or metal halides come on, and then have the full spectrum fluorescents or metal halides go off about an hour before the actinics go off. In this way, you mimic dawn and dusk. If you have LED lunar lights, you can also set these up to simply come on at night or to mimic the phases of the moon. Regardless of how you set up your system, remember that lighting is critical, and so is consistency from day to day.
The best advice for a beginner aquarium keeper is to spend good money on lights; and don’t be surprised if your lights are the single most expensive piece of equipment you purchase for your saltwater aquarium—they are that important. Good luck!
From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Saltwater Aquariums by Mark W. Martin and Ret Talbot
If you use a combination of lights, you could program your actinics to come on for an hour or so before the full spectrum fluorescents or metal halides come on, and then have the full spectrum fluorescents or metal halides go off about an hour before the actinics go off. In this way, you mimic dawn and dusk. If you have LED lunar lights, you can also set these up to simply come on at night or to mimic the phases of the moon. Regardless of how you set up your system, remember that lighting is critical, and so is consistency from day to day.
The best advice for a beginner aquarium keeper is to spend good money on lights; and don’t be surprised if your lights are the single most expensive piece of equipment you purchase for your saltwater aquarium—they are that important. Good luck!
From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Saltwater Aquariums by Mark W. Martin and Ret Talbot
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
SWSCJ
Aquarium Advice Freak
So the LDP & SDP graph shows them intersecting at just under 14 hrs of light.
pho·to·pe·ri·od·ism (ft-pîr--dzm) also pho·to·pe·ri·o·dic·i·ty (-ds-t)
n. pl. pho·to·pe·ri·od·isms also pho·to·pe·ri·o·dic·i·ties
The response of an organism to changes in its photoperiod, especially as indicated by vital processes.
Key word " changes." Simulating light as close to what it would be in their natural environment would probably be the best for growth, spawning, eating, and flowering.
pho·to·pe·ri·od·ism (ft-pîr--dzm) also pho·to·pe·ri·o·dic·i·ty (-ds-t)
n. pl. pho·to·pe·ri·od·isms also pho·to·pe·ri·o·dic·i·ties
The response of an organism to changes in its photoperiod, especially as indicated by vital processes.
Key word " changes." Simulating light as close to what it would be in their natural environment would probably be the best for growth, spawning, eating, and flowering.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
Per the graph, both had different requirements. If ocean life is similar, and I would imagine it to be, then a longer photoperiod could be detrimental to some species.
SWSCJ
Aquarium Advice Freak
Or shorter.
