NEW LIGHTS QUESTION ON ACCLIMATING TO TANK

btwk12

btwk12

Member
my nova extreme pro 72'' 12 bulb fixture should be here tuesday
right now i have 2 t-5 bulbs 48'' and 2 pc fixtures 30'' 2 bulbs in each. my ? is how slow should i acclimate them to my tank? my plan is to run 4 bulbs for 12 hours a day. and start the other 8 bulbs at like 3-4 hours a day. and then every week keep them on for another hour untill i get to 8 hours a day. is this to fast or to slow?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Do you run all lights for 12 Hours?
 
Or do you turn actinics on first...then whites....then whites go off....then actinics go off??????
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
No need to have a light cycle 12hrs a day. You could try raising the lighting higher above the tank and over the course of weeks lower it, and as others might suggest you could use some netting, and as the weeks progress remove layers of the netting, but truly 12hrs is overkill.
 
btwk12

btwk12

Member
when i get my timers set to stay i was gonna run 4 bulbs from 6am-8am, then from 8am-4pm i would run all 12 lights, then from 4pm-6pm just 4 bulbs then off at 6pm so just 4 bulbs will be on for 12 hours. if thats to much then i could go with a similar 10 hour schedule
 
nikesb

nikesb

Active Member
8 hours is honestly too much imo for MH. alot of people run it that long but i've seen no benefits from it. a local reefer (a tank i've personally seen) ran his mh for 5-6 hours in his display tank and ran his frag tank for 8 hours on mh. both tanks were plumbed together, so same water conditions.same bulbs too. he had better color in his dt.
 
btwk12

btwk12

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by nikeSB http:///forum/thread/380644/new-lights-question-on-acclimating-to-tank#post_3313740
8 hours is honestly too much imo for MH. alot of people run it that long but i've seen no benefits from it. a local reefer (a tank i've personally seen) ran his mh for 5-6 hours in his display tank and ran his frag tank for 8 hours on mh. both tanks were plumbed together, so same water conditions.same bulbs too. he had better color in his dt.
i dont have mh i have t-5 12 bulb fixture
 
nikesb

nikesb

Active Member
mh or t5. its the same concept. I bleached corals at 5 hours with my t5's and i've moved down to 3 hours "full" and 2 hours of actinic only. I suggest that the best way to keep longer lighting schedules is to acclimate them to that. to do this. you basically start at 5 hours and keep them at that for 2 weeks, bleaching, lessen. good coloring, increase 30 mins every week
 
btwk12

btwk12

Member
finnaly got them today!!!!
and the colors on the corals are so much better! 1000% more than i ever thought the color difference would be.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
LOL....YEAH...people can tell you...you can look at pictures. BUT until you have them right in front.....there is no comparison
so glad you like them
can't wait to see pics
 
btwk12

btwk12

Member
im so glad i didnt go with the ati that was 200 more, because these are more than enough for what im gonna have, and the color is beautiful!! i was running 4 actinic bulbs for a couple hours after i got them today and it was way more than what i had before! if the ati is so much better i would feel sorry for the fish that have to live under them lol
 
nikesb

nikesb

Active Member
you may say that now about the ATI fixture, but if you move on to an sps dominated tank, youll be eating those words. i ate mine haha
 
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