a little lighting info please

sue_c

sue_c

Member
I love this site i have to admit i dont post often since alot of my ?? can be answered by doing a search.I have done every search there is and i even noticed that someone mentioned the exact same lights i have but never got an answer,so im hoping to get some help with this. I bought coralife 48" aqualight it has 2-65 watt actinic and 2-65 watt 10,000k, with seperate on off switches(due to this site i have figured out lunar and actinic are different.yay me)so my ? is how do i set the timer for these lights and will i need to invest in lunar lights before i buy any corals or anemones?I still have 4 to 6 months before this can happen since my tank is only 2 months old .
currently have:75g
clean up crew from saltwaterfish.com
1 pygmy angel
5 damsels
1 firefish
3 false perc's i know should only have 2 one will be moving soon
50 lbs live rock need more
80 lbs of argonite (natures ocean)
cycled with live rock and cocktail shrimp all readings have been good.
 
tinyreef

tinyreef

Member
each switch should be linked to a separate plug. each plug should then be connected to separate timers (hardware store light timers are fine).
keep the switches on the "on" position always and let the timers switch them on/off, just like a typical room lamp. the typical sequence is to set the actinics to come on an hour or so before the daylights. and then shut the daylights off an hour or so before turning off the actinics. e.g. actinics-on - 12PM, daylights-on - 1PM, daylights-off - 11PM, actinics-off - 12AM.
btw, you don't need 'lunar' lighting. it's a nice add-on and gimmicky thing but it's not necessary.
does it help the corals? probably to a small extent of regulating they're bio-clocks but you probably would get a more realistic effect (on the corals) if you left a room light on during the moon periods you wish to emulate. hth
 
snipe

snipe

Active Member
tinyreef that is way to late. You want to "follow" the day night schedual not make your own at 12 in the noon.
Should be more like this
Moon lights off 7 A.M. | actnincs on 7A.M. | daylights on 8 A.M. | daylights off 6 P.M. "for 10 hours" | antinics off 7 P.M. | moon lights on 7 P.M.
 
tinyreef

tinyreef

Member
well, it was "for example" (e.g.) only but you can do another photoperiod other than natural daylight. as long as the real sun's photoperiod isn't visible (e.g. window or door) it shouldn't bother the livestock, i.e. confuse their bio-clocks.
for instance, i run my tank in my basement cut off entirely from outside lighting. its photoperiod is completely dependent upon what i set. (i don't adjust for Daylight Savings though)
currently, i run it at 12PM to 12AM actinic and 3PM to 9PM daylight. btw the daylight is so short because i'm still adjusting to new mh's. i used to run vho-only in the exact schedule i noted above tho.
now i used to have a little light peek thru some windows but kept it shaded to prevent the light confusion. i renovated a couple of years back though so now it's completely dark (other than a shielded RDP refugium).
otoh, i run my office nano pretty much to sunlight schedule because there's so much light leakage from windows and it confirms to work times as well.
i like adjusting the photoperiod because it allows me to "enjoy" the tank. jmo
 
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