new lighting system

[topherice18]

I just bought a 48" Coralife Lunar Aqualights Compact flourecent fixture, and I have never had my lights on timers before for my 55 gallon fish only (soon to be reef tank). I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for when I should have the lights turn on and off, and which lights i should have on together and what not. I am thinkng of having them come on around 4ish in the evening and turn off whenever, Im a second shift worker so i think something like that would be best, and another question. Should I have the lunar moonlights on all the time or when nothing else is on.... any and all insight would be helpful, Thank you

 

[scsinet]

LED moonlights can be left on all the time.
They last essentially forever, consume almost no power, and you won't know the difference when the main lights are on. It's not worth the timer.
You can scale your lights (turn some on, then others, etc), or you can switch them all together, it's really up to you. The positive/negative effect on your system is negligable.
However, turning the lights on at 4pm then trying to run them for say ... 8 hrs (12am) might not be the best idea unless your tank is in a location where it doesn't get any ambient room light. Reason is that normal sunlight levels in the house, plus 6 hours or so of artificial light after the sun goes down can contribute to a serious algae problem. If the tank is in a dark room, you're fine, but if not, you may need to have your lighting come on earlier and not stay on so long after dark.

 

[sarge]

On my 75g tank I have my Actinic's cut on about an hour before the daylight ones and stay on an hour later after the dyalights cut off. Not sure if it makes any difference, it was what was suggested when I setup the tank.

 

[topherice18]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
LED moonlights can be left on all the time.
They last essentially forever, consume almost no power, and you won't know the difference when the main lights are on. It's not worth the timer.
You can scale your lights (turn some on, then others, etc), or you can switch them all together, it's really up to you. The positive/negative effect on your system is negligable.
However, turning the lights on at 4pm then trying to run them for say ... 8 hrs (12am) might not be the best idea unless your tank is in a location where it doesn't get any ambient room light. Reason is that normal sunlight levels in the house, plus 6 hours or so of artificial light after the sun goes down can contribute to a serious algae problem. If the tank is in a dark room, you're fine, but if not, you may need to have your lighting come on earlier and not stay on so long after dark.
I intended on mentioning touching on the ambient light. In the spot of the room it is in, there is one window that doesnt get much sun to begin with, and it also has a tapestry covering it up. So there is virtually no ambient light. So i should be able to do that 8 hour light segment then?

 

[topherice18]

Originally Posted by Sarge
On my 75g tank I have my Actinic's cut on about an hour before the daylight ones and stay on an hour later after the dyalights cut off. Not sure if it makes any difference, it was what was suggested when I setup the tank.
The guy at the LFS that i bought the fixture at, told me the very same thing, he didnt mention why and I dont have a clue but the actinic lights do look sweet just the same, I think i heard him say something about it wakin up the corals or something like that