i like to see my tank light up in the morning before i go to work and at night when im home.. but i cant leave it on all day. whats ur current hrs for the light to be on? mine is 10-2 and 6-10. please share! thanx =]

Mine goes, first actintic set on at 10am, second 10:30am. First daylight set 11am, second 12:00 noon.

First daylight off 8pm, second 9pm. First actintic off 9:30pm second off 10pm.

Fuge 50/50's go on when all other lights at off 10pm-10am

Each time set controls 2 bulbs. Basically it's a 2 hour ramp for sunrise/sunset.

Mine are set at

Actinics 10am-10pm
10k Daylight PC 11:30am-8:30pm
Metal Halide 12pm-4pm
Lunars 10pm-10am

It took me some time to find the butter zone but once i did all of my corals are happy.

jeez i thought we shouldnt put light on for more than 12 hrs (some also says 8hrs).. this is more than i expect

well my lights are only fully on for 8 and partially on for 12 :) does that count?

explain what u mean partially for 12

btw i changed my schedule now to 11-9. instead of 2 short segments. i want it all the way thru

Partially = less than 100% of my lights being on. From my first light going on until my last light goes off (not counting night lights) it's a 12 hour cycle but only for 8 of those 12 are all of my PC's running at the same time.

well since i work all day, and am not here to enjoy my tanks lighting is around my schedule more

Actinics on - 2:00 PM
MH on - 6:00 PM
HM off - 11:00 PM
Actinics off - 12:00 AM

with such low light i chose to do 8 hrs for mh and 12hrs for pc's and it has made my coraline grow very quickly

Rob, i notice you are running a rather short MH period (5 hours) - can u share your lighting specifications and your overall experience with photoperiod. Also, do you know of any good articles on the subject?

PS. I have began listening to the podcasts a few weeks ago...im up to episode 30 and closing in. Since I've started listening to the podcasts, my ride home from work on the infamous 405 freeway (more like a parking lot) has become educational and fun. keep up the good work :)

Golan


well since i work all day, and am not here to enjoy my tanks lighting is around my schedule more

Actinics on - 2:00 PM
MH on - 6:00 PM
HM off - 11:00 PM
Actinics off - 12:00 AM

hi golan welcome to TR. i noticed u are from cali too. i used to live in la, but oc now. i have my actinics on for 12 hrs. and the MH for 8. they come on at diferent times sometimes alone, sometimes together to simulate sun rise and sun set

Rob, i notice you are running a rather short MH period (5 hours) - can u share your lighting specifications and your overall experience with photoperiod. Also, do you know of any good articles on the subject?

PS. I have began listening to the podcasts a few weeks ago...im up to episode 30 and closing in. Since I've started listening to the podcasts, my ride home from work on the infamous 405 freeway (more like a parking lot) has become educational and fun. keep up the good work :)

Golan
yes, actually i don't have any articles on short photoperiods, however some time back i started seeing people talk about it, and did what research i could. basically, i found that its mostly a waste to run the MH for more than a few hours in most cases. this of course is specific to your lights setup and inhabitants.

for me i have 2 250 XM 10,000K MH bulbs. i have many corals, that fall into height and medium light needs along with clams that need high light. the research i did do indicated that after as little as 2 or 3 hours of MH lighting most of your corals reach a photo-saturation point where they are no longer making good use of the available light.

this leaves you in a situation where you have lights on for only a couple hours, but since this is the main lighting in many tanks people don't want to only look at there tank during a 2-3 hour window so they leave them on longer.

in my case about 8 months ago i started shortening my photo period from 8 to 5 or 6 hours, and some day i wont turn the light on at all (leaving only my actinics on there normal schedule). i cant say i have had drastic results, but i have notice better coloration in many of my coral. again, its not drastic, and may not even be related to the shorter photperiod, but at this point my stuff is growing and looking good, the lights are on when im home and my electrical bill is lower.. :)

i run my lights in the same fashion as iglowce mentioned above. I have a 180 with 3x14k SE hamiltons 250W and 2x160w VHO actinics. My VHOs are on 12 hours, and my MHs are on for 8. I think what i might try to do is add some daylight fluorecents T-5s to run 8 hours instead of the MH...and then shorten the MH to 4-6 hours.
what do you think?

PS. this photoperiod topic may be a good one to have on the podcast with Sanjay.

that is my exact thought.. and my plan, but i never got the daylight T5's..
id say got for it.. :)

I'm running my lights pretty much like Rob for over 2 year now.
Actinics T5 on at 2:00 PM off at 11PM, MH 2 250W DE Giesemann Megachrome 14K on at 4:00PM off by 10:00 PM.
I also notice a better coloration on all my corals.

:welcome: to TR Golan.

... and just when I thought I had a lighting plan, out comes the short MH period info... That would make the MH about as economical as the T5 I was planning to use.

Could a T5 daylight bulb period be shortened also or is it more a factor of getting the intensity of the MH that it is not necessary for as long a period?

... and just when I thought I had a lighting plan, out comes the short MH period info... That would make the MH about as economical as the T5 I was planning to use.

Could a T5 daylight bulb period be shortened also or is it more a factor of getting the intensity of the MH that it is not necessary for as long a period?
my understanding is that its because of the intensity. so with something like a T5 you would not be able to shorten it like that

Thanks. I will probably still use T5 to limit the heat issues and have a longer viewing period.