Lighting Times

[tricksterya]

Quick question if i may. i have a 2x250MH (15k) w/ 4x54W T5 (Blue) with 6 blue LED for night time lighting on my 90Gal tank (48x18x24). (going to be a Reef tank) I am setting up the timers and wondering what the max time you want to run your lighting systems. i know some people have said 8-10 hours but wondering if there is a best amount per day and the negatives of going longer. i have a decent skimmer and really not much but coral and a few inverts in my tank but i like the lights on all the time if i could, besides the burning the lights out faster and the cost of electricity, looking for anything else i should know. thanks... pros/cons

Noob.

 

[JMacIII]

I had a similar set up and had the halides on for 9 hours and the T-5s on for 12 hours.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I have the same set up, only I just replaced one of the blues with a Fiji purple bulb (it made an awesome difference). I run my t5s from 12:30 to 9:30 and my halides from 1:30 to 8:30. I used to run them longer but algae became a problem

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[tricksterya]

cool. so algea is the only down side? i can deal with that i guess. and a purple fiji bulb. do you have a pic of before and after of you tank kenny?

 

[xxkenny90xx]

My main issue was that I ended up having to wipe down my glass almost daily due to film algae. Also, your corals and fish will need some lights out time for sleep and coral growth (I believe). Anyways, I'll get some before and after pics up in the next day or two

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[xxkenny90xx]

Lights out time meaning either complete darkness or with your leds on

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[Terrance]

My LEDs run 8 hours daily. I did some research off another reef website about 8 hours is enough. Anything more is a waste of electricity and can cause algae growth. This is assuming no ramp up or downs on intensity of lighting. I NOT did research this topic any further and have been have good growth with 8 hours.

 

[tricksterya]

Thanks guys/gals starting tomorrow I have mine setup for 7 hours full light then 2 hours before and after with just the t5 s running. We will see. I also need to hook up my chiller. Tank has been getting up to 81.5 degrees at peak and 77.9 on the low end. Don't like the high end. Picks tomorrow for anyone interested. Also all inverts will be here tomorrow and specs... I did all analysis and calcium just below 400 all at 2.7/7.6 ph 8.6 nitrates <5 nitrites 0 anything else needed to tell me what I am doing wrong?

 

[NC2WA]

pH is 8.6?? that is very high....do you have a lid on the tank? if so, open it up during the night to get some CO2 exchange..this should help lowering the pH.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Here are my before and after pictures, but my camera phone doesn't do the colors justice. 4 blues

3 blues and one Fiji purple

both pictures are with the bulbs 8" above the tank and the halides off

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[tricksterya]

Still pretty nice.. I see the differences guess I will do that when I replace my bulbs

 

[Maxx]

I generally run my lights between 8-12 hours a day.
When I had MH's I ran them for about 8-10 hours a day. I was getting about a years worth of life per bulb. I did notice that I began to get color shift at 8-10 months if I ran them at 12 hours, so I cut down to 8-10 hours and began getting a full year or more out of bulbs.
However, I was running them on an M70 HQI ballast, so that needs to be taken into consideration as well.
I used VHO Actinics for a dawn/dusk effect on the tank to transition to lights on/out periods.

Since my shifts rotate, and the tank is in my basement, I just set up the lighting schedule that works best for me. MH Lights were on from 2pm until 10 pm. VHO's kicked on at 1pm and were off at 230 pm, and kicked back on at 930 pm until 1130 pm where they turned off.

I used Phoenix 14K MH's so I didn't the actinic's for anything more than aesthetics or the dawn/dusk effect.

 

[NC2WA]

Nick

You say used..what r u using now?

LED?

 

[tricksterya]

yea just noticed a huge algea growth over the least few days and so i am cutting back on the lighting. i have it set for 6 hours of MH and 4 additional hours of the T5's 2 hours before and after. Thanks for all the info. i kinda wish i would have paid the money for LED's now since my temp in the tank is reached 82.6 yesterday before i noticed and corrected. I have a chiller but not hooked up yet, so guess that is going to be my project today/tomorrow/.

 

[NC2WA]

82.6 is fine. .most fish or corals will do well..when temp is 84 plus then start to worry

 

[ReefGeeker]

You could get some of those hang on back azoo fans it bet it would help quite a bit with the temp.

 

[Maxx]

NC2WA is correct with regards to your temperature. You're within the preferred range.
One thing to keep in mind however, is that it's winter right now, (Well, fall almost winter). You might want to get your chiller set up and see what it will pull your temp down to so that you don't have an issue during the warmer months of the year.

Kirk,
I moved to LED's over a year ago.
I've been using Gen1 Radions with no issues for about 14 months now.

 

[tricksterya]

well will get it setup and try it out. it would suck to find out the chiller wont drop temp enough.. also the Azoo fans, i have read a few places but people reviews say they suck and break. any of you use them. how much noise and are they worth it?

 

[NC2WA]

Haven't used the azoo so can't comment..instead I have a desk fan the one with a clip on my tank
Works just fine

 

[tricksterya]

yea i am looking online now for a ultra quite fan, i dont like the humming, trying to quite down the tank as much as possible. thanks though.