lighting

[joebuckmaster]

I am a rookie at this, and I can not seem to get a straight answer from anyone. How long should I keep my lights on? Also I have one coralife-50/50 bulb and one coralife- actinic bulb on my tank. 29gal , 30lbs of live sand and 30 lbs of live rock. Is this a good set up? <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />

 

[old hermit]

if it going to be a reef it will need more lighting than that. there are metal halides, power compacts, and vho. i started with a 65 watt power compact on my 29 g. and that isnt enough for anything but soft corals really. so now i ame getting a vho system with 4 bulbs. that will take my tank from 2.6 watts per gallon with the power compact lights to 10 watts per gallon with my vho. you should look at the options for lighting before you jump into it because all of it will cost you a lot of money. if you do get some metal halides you will have to put them about 8-12 inches above your tank with some fans to cool them off or the heat will cook your fish.

 

[kris walker]

Hi JoeBuck,
How long? There is no straight answer unfortunately. The "photoperiod" varies throughout the year as you know in nature, but we usually don't take this into account. A typical average is 10 hours, but people usually pick a time from this range that suits them: 8-14 hours. If you have a little phosphate and/or nitrate in your tank, the longer you have your lights on, the more of a nuisance algae will be. Also, some corals, once they have received their "fill" of light, they close up for the rest of the photoperiod. My bubble does this. So if they are all closed up for the last hour or so of the photoperiod, then maybe that's a sign you can trim back the length of it.
kris

 

[joebuckmaster]

I have two damsels in my tank to help speed up the cycling process. I turned my lights off for about eight hours for the first time. When I turned them back on my damsels went crazy and they were almost white looking. This is the first time the lights have been off since I started my tank about two weeks ago.

 

[noodle]

well the sudden light change isn't natural. What i like to do it turn on my 55 watt pc's with actinic for an hour and then after that turn on my other 55 wat smart lights. i TRY to simulate sunrise/sunset.

 

[10k]

WHAO! Lights on for two weeks straight. Those fish are wired! You need to establish a lighting routine. Get a timer!!! 8 to 12 hours on for fish only, up to 16 for reef. Watch to see what is the most time you can leave them on without starting an algae bloom...Good Luck in the World's Greatest Hobby!!!