light duration

[anamilasti]

ok 65 gallon tank, 6 - 28 watt t5 lights = 168 watts = 2.6 watts / gallon
how long shouls i keep my lights on for, and i have them on 3 different timers. and i also have a reef tank mostly softies but just bought a brain coral and branching frog spawn?

 

[reefkprz]

I reccomend 12 on 12 off, most corals come from regions with about that naturally, I start my actinics one hour before my main lights, then four hours into the light cycle a supplementary light kicks in to simulate high noon, that lasts four hours, then my main lights go off one hour before my actinics. total light cycle 12 hours.

 

[anamilasti]

what is a suplement light?

 

[reefkprz]

it just means it supplies extra light, not that it provides supplements, I had a spare set of power compaqs left from an old tank so I set them angled on top of my tank so I can provide a high noon effect. angled in this manner it hits mostly the top 1/2 of the tank that way any low light corals I have on bottom dont get toasted. and it also sends light into some of the shadyer areas of the upper half so I can keep a higher light coral growing in a cave that it wouldnt normally get enough light in due to the overhang.

 

[frankthetank]

I use my actinics for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening... my daylight bulbs come on inbetween. As the other poster said, a total of 12 hours is good.
I do have a question, I have posed it a couple of times but not got a straight answer.
I have a dual satellite on a 46bow. It has the dual actinic (420 & 460 96 watt) and the dual daylight (6700k & 10k 96watt). It really creates a bright tank when all the lights are on. I would prefer a little more blue look to the tank.
My thought was to replace the dual daylight with a 50/50 (10k daylight & 420 or 460 actinic 96 watt) Would this give a more blue look while not depleting the light source for my corals?
Oh, and which would be better the 420 (purple) or the 460 (blue)?

 

[beeryc]

What kind of corals can i keep with a 28 watt white light and a 28 watt blue light combo?

 

[anamilasti]

1) i would go with a higher spectrum 200k means more blue light, 65oo k means less light and the inbetween follow.
2) what size tank do u have with the 28 watt lights?

 

[reefkprz]

Originally Posted by FranktheTank
I use my actinics for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening... my daylight bulbs come on inbetween. As the other poster said, a total of 12 hours is good.
I do have a question, I have posed it a couple of times but not got a straight answer.
I have a dual satellite on a 46bow. It has the dual actinic (420 & 460 96 watt) and the dual daylight (6700k & 10k 96watt). It really creates a bright tank when all the lights are on. I would prefer a little more blue look to the tank.
My thought was to replace the dual daylight with a 50/50 (10k daylight & 420 or 460 actinic 96 watt) Would this give a more blue look while not depleting the light source for my corals?
Oh, and which would be better the 420 (purple) or the 460 (blue)?
I think I answered this question on your thread.