Photocycle times?

[palisaide]

I am fairly new to SW and reef tanks and was wondering about lighting cycle times. Currently, I have my MH on from noon until 8pm and my flourescents on from 11am until 9pm. Does this seem okay? I've read a few posts where people are only keeping their MH on for a few hours. TIA.

 

[roka64]

I'm not sure about reefs, but most tend to run a total of 8-10 hours.

 

[melosu58]

I dont have any MH`s but I run my VHO`s 9-9

 

[afishyonados]

The photoperiod you are running is fine. Corals can only consume so much light energy a day. The rest of the time is spent processing it.
What types of corals are you planning on keeping?

 

[FishFrik]

I only ran my 10,000K PC 6 hours/day and my green BTA did fine. When I was running the light for longer though, my corals expanded more nicely and grew quicker.

 

[StripesTheEel]

I run..

Actinics 8:30 - 10:30am
Halides 10:30am - 6:30pm
Actinic 6:30pm - 8:30pm

NO Actinic Lighting - 4 hours
Halides - 8 hours

12 hours all up