How should I use the lighting options in an Oceanic Biocube 29 Gallon??

[tirtza]

I have a new Oceanic Biocube 29 Gallon. I understand what the moon light is for, but what about the other two lights....do I use them together or seperatley? When and how should I use them?
Thanks for your help! ~* Tirtza
My Aquarium Basics:
Tank size - 29 gal Oceanic biocube (with an additional carbon filter pad covering the overflow tray above the bioballs in the 2nd chamber)
Type - 2 Damsel Fish with live rock
Status - Still cycling and I'm waiting for my live rock or live sand to start growing something (hopefully purple?) or spread something to my base rock.
Water parameters- pH = 8, Ammonia = 0, Nitrite = 0, Nitrate = 0
Salinity - 1.025
Temperature - 79

 

[mxsnow145]

you can use them both together or seperatley... i use timers so my white light is on from 1pm to 1:30am ( should be 10-12 hours but i dont usually go to bed till 1:30 lol) my blue light comes on at 1am and goes off a 3am and my moon lights are one from 1:30 am till 1pm at which point my white lights come back on
i hope this helped

 

[btldreef]

I run mine differently. The actinics (the blue bulb) can really help with coral growth and health, so IMO, it should be on while the white light is on.
This is my light schedule for my BioCube:
8am blue lights on
10am white comes on (blue light stays on with white lights)
8pm white lights off
11pm blue lights off
the moonlights are always on.

 

[tirtza]

Thanks for the advice! Just a few more questions...
1. Do you think I should keep the moon light on when the other two are on? Does it even make a difference? I just thought I'd save some electricity + increase the longevity of the moon light bulb by only using it at night. What do you think?
(I was thinking of perhaps using two separate timers...one timer for day (the actinics and white incandescent light) and one timer for night to turn on/off the moon light. Since I'm a newbie, I definitely don't plan on having any corals any time soon. So with a 'fish only + live rock' aquarium what would you suggest?
2. When you were cycling your aquarium, how did you use the three different lights? The guy at my LFS said to only turn the blue and white lights on for a max of 6 per day while I'm cycling so that I don't create a big algae problem. Would that dim blue light (the actinics) really contribute to algae?

 

[saxman]

+1 to TommieLynn's advice...
Your moonlights are LED's, which are semiconductor devices that have a longevity of about 50,000 hours (about 5.7 years, assuming 24/7 usage) for "standard" 5mm LED's, so I wouldn't worry. In fact, I have a set of DIY blue moonlights that run 24/7 and they're close to 10 years old.
Your BC doesn't have incandescent lamps...they're all PC fluorescent (most likely one actinic and one 10k) unless you have an HQI version, which are metal halides in an "arm-type" housing that extends over the tank. However, this lamp doesn't seem like it has actinic supplementation. Just so you have your lighting technologies straight. I'd run them on separate timers, as a dawn/dusk arrangement with the actinics coming on an hour or two before the 10k's and remaining on 1-2 hours after the 10ks turn off.
If you're cycling, you don't need to use the lighting at all, except to see into the tank, so just use the 10k when you want to look at something while the tank is cycling.
HTH

 

[tirtza]

Thanks Saxman, I really appreciate your advice. Although I'm just in week #2 of cycling, my water quality has been great and over the past several days I noticed some coral (I think it's coral??) growing on one of the liverocks. Because of (what I think might be coral) I've been using your advice and turning the actinic light on an hour or two before I turn on the 10k and then leaving both on for about 4 hours. I then turn off the 10k and leave the actinic light on for a remaining hour. Thanks for the tip on the blue LED lights. I have no guilt about keeping them on 24/7! Thanks! I'm posting a picture of what I think might be coral (I'm very new to saltwater so I'm not positive). If you get a chance, could you take a look at it and let me know for sure? Also...if it is coral, how should I adjust my lighting? I'll post the picture on a different discussion thread. Thanks!

 

[saxman]

Link please...or just post the pic here.
NM...I was able to find the thread.
FWIW, they're Palythoa or Protopalythoa. Woo-hoo...freebies!