Light Acclimation Help PLEASE

meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
OK, my new light arrives Tues (12/2) my tank is 225g. I am going from 384wattcf to 1084Watt MH/T5....I know you have to acclimate lights, but I am confused how to do it.
I will have the blue led lunars on at night, then my T5 (actinics) will come on in the a.m. first for one hour, then my reg. lights will come on....THEn WHAT???? How long do I run the reg. lights at first? DO I put them on one hour, off one hour????? Can someone please give me a schedule that will work for my fish? I have Frogspawn that needs light badly....Please advise me what to do?
THX
 
wattsupdoc

wattsupdoc

Active Member
You want to lessen the amount of light the corals etc. are exposed to. Time is relevant, but less relevant. You can run the actinics longer if you want. I run mine for 15hrs. with MH on for only 5. But to each their own. I would sugest going to Lowe's and getting some egg crate. I find it in the ceiling tile section at my Lowe's, may be different at yours. And some fiberglass screen, from the screen door/window /glass/Plexiglas section at mine, again might be different. Cut the egg crate to fit over the top of the tank, then cut the screen to fit over that, twice. Layer the screen up and start your light cycle. Keep it as close to your existing time wise as possible. After a week remove a screen, then 1 week later, the next, then last week the egg crate. Adjusting the time to where you want it to be 3-4 days into each change. So install the light with egg crate and screen, after three days, tweak the lighting a tad, then 3-4 days later, remove a screen. etc. etc.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
OK, let me get this straight...I pay all this money for lights, and only keep them on 5-6 hours a day? I thought the whole point was for light? I keep my lights on now: Actinic go on at 6 a.m. , reg lights at 7 a.m., reg lights off at 9 pm, and actinic off at 10...blue led lunar on at 10, and off at 6 a.m.
What type of schedule do you have your MH lights on for? 6 hours straight, or broken up?
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/2853919
OK, let me get this straight...I pay all this money for lights, and only keep them on 5-6 hours a day? I thought the whole point was for light? I keep my lights on now: Actinic go on at 6 a.m. , reg lights at 7 a.m., reg lights off at 9 pm, and actinic off at 10...blue led lunar on at 10, and off at 6 a.m.
What type of schedule do you have your MH lights on for? 6 hours straight, or broken up?
I have 3 MH's .1-on 12:00pm....2-on 1:00pm.....3_on 2:00 pm.
1-off 6:00 pm...2-off 7:00 pm...3-off 8:00pm
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/2853919
OK, let me get this straight...I pay all this money for lights, and only keep them on 5-6 hours a day? I thought the whole point was for light?

if you keep the mh's on all day you'll run the temp in the tank up very very fast. think of the ocean: the sun is only up at full power for a small amount of time.
 
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