Lighting guidelines?

[theyangman]

So I have the ATI 8 bulb, and it has ATI bulbs in there, what sort of schedule do you guys run with your T5 HO's?

I currently have my main 6 bulb spectrum running 12 till 7, and then my antics from 7 till 12. I find my glass gets algae on it within a few days and I constantly having to use the magnet cleaner on it all the time. Is 7 hours too much? Should I cut down my actinic times? I was thinking of adding a Reef brite strip just for moonlights from maybe midnight till 8 am and then turning my actinics on again from 8 am till noon when the full lights come on.

 

[Duke]

So I have the ATI 8 bulb, and it has ATI bulbs in there, what sort of schedule do you guys run with your T5 HO's?

I currently have my main 6 bulb spectrum running 12 till 7, and then my antics from 7 till 12. I find my glass gets algae on it within a few days and I constantly having to use the magnet cleaner on it all the time. Is 7 hours too much? Should I cut down my actinic times? I was thinking of adding a Reef brite strip just for moonlights from maybe midnight till 8 am and then turning my actinics on again from 8 am till noon when the full lights come on.

your pounding it with light so having to run a mag float around every day or two is pretty normal.. its not like a hair algae or anything is it? more like a light dusting that just kinda wipes off back into the water column?

 

[theyangman]

yeah, its a haze on the glass more than anything. Nothing seriously funky or gross. A few swipes of my mag float and they are gone.

What are some of you guys running for lighting? (schedules that is)

 

[monizb]

I agree with duke my lights are as follow

LED ON 8am off 1pm

Two blue plus on at 1pm to 2pm off

2pm on other 6 bulbs come on until 8pm

Then the two blue plus back on at 8pm to 9pm

Led on 9pm to 11pm

 

[Duke]

yeah, its a haze on the glass more than anything. Nothing seriously funky or gross. A few swipes of my mag float and they are gone.

What are some of you guys running for lighting? (schedules that is)

im led.. but i run a full 12 hours of blue lighting. with 8 hours of white

10am-10pm blues
12pm-8pm whites and blues

 

[jroovers]

So I have the ATI 8 bulb, and it has ATI bulbs in there, what sort of schedule do you guys run with your T5 HO's?

I currently have my main 6 bulb spectrum running 12 till 7, and then my antics from 7 till 12. I find my glass gets algae on it within a few days and I constantly having to use the magnet cleaner on it all the time. Is 7 hours too much? Should I cut down my actinic times? I was thinking of adding a Reef brite strip just for moonlights from maybe midnight till 8 am and then turning my actinics on again from 8 am till noon when the full lights come on.

That shouldn't be too much.  Why not run the actinics from 12 to 12, with the full spectrum lighting on from 2 until 9 or 3 until 10?  That way you get both a dawn and dusk effect.  I run my RB crees from 12 to 12, and 2 of my T5s from 2 to 8, and the other 2 from 4 till 10. 

 

[Duke]

[quote author=theyangman link=topic=7515.msg77558#msg77558 date=1390244882]
So I have the ATI 8 bulb, and it has ATI bulbs in there, what sort of schedule do you guys run with your T5 HO's?

I currently have my main 6 bulb spectrum running 12 till 7, and then my antics from 7 till 12. I find my glass gets algae on it within a few days and I constantly having to use the magnet cleaner on it all the time. Is 7 hours too much? Should I cut down my actinic times? I was thinking of adding a Reef brite strip just for moonlights from maybe midnight till 8 am and then turning my actinics on again from 8 am till noon when the full lights come on.

That shouldn't be too much.  Why not run the actinics from 12 to 12, with the full spectrum lighting on from 2 until 9 or 3 until 10?  That way you get both a dawn and dusk effect.  I run my RB crees from 12 to 12, and 2 of my T5s from 2 to 8, and the other 2 from 4 till 10. 
[/quote]

i totally agree, i never got why people run weird schedules with all the actinic only lighting on at night.. i've always spaced the ramp up/downs equally.. since the sun rises and sets in roughly the same amount of time and all.

 

[theyangman]

I've just timed my schedule for lighting to be the most beneficial for viewing pleasure. 99% of the time I don't care what the tank looks like between the hours of 9-5 pm cause I'm at work. But I do like the blue effect mainly when I am at home to view the tank.

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[TORX]

Don't like to clean you glass? You like the toys Robosnail

[youtube]EwsEwuSJRsA[/youtube]

 

[theyangman]

Are those even available? Did it actually come to market?

 

[jroovers]

I've just timed my schedule for lighting to be the most beneficial for viewing pleasure. 99% of the time I don't care what the tank looks like between the hours of 9-5 pm cause I'm at work. But I do like the blue effect mainly when I am at home to view the tank.

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As Duke has noted above, a ramping up and down effect is more like natural lighting - if that is beneficial or not to the fish and corals, who knows.  In terms of viewing though, wouldn't you want to see the tank during full spectrum lighting too?  I work the same hours as you pretty much - my tank is full spectrum when I come home, later it is half full spectrum, and then it is RBs only for a dusk effect - during the evening hours, I get to see the tank in all three phases of its lighting.  In the mornings, the tank is dark when I check my equipment, and often I turn on a flashlight or turn on the RBs to see what is going on in there with the corals and other creatures.  If you are trying to watch your tank closely, I'd recommend looking at it during peak lighting in addition to actinic lighting, what you see under one might look drastically different under the other.

 

[Jewel]

I agree, my lights are on a full 12 hours, I've got 6 on 3 switches 2 Coral plus from 12 to 12, 2 more Coral plus come on at 2pm and off at 10 pm and then the Purples  3 to 8pm. I'm gonna put a 50/50 Reef Brite strip on between 1pm and 11pm just to enhance the colours a bit, they are to strong for moon lights

 

[spyd]

Before I added the LED strips, I was running my 2 actinics for 10hrs. All bulbs on for only 5 hrs. I would like to run all my lamps longer but my corals start bleaching so 5 hrs is all I can do. It used to be 4hrs and I slowly ramped it up to 5hrs now.

As for on times, I let the LEDs start ramping up at 5pm. Full lighting on at 7pm. I do this just to save on hydro. Stupid smart meters.....

 

[Reef Hero]

Before I added the LED strips, I was running my 2 actinics for 10hrs. All bulbs on for only 5 hrs. I would like to run all my lamps longer but my corals start bleaching so 5 hrs is all I can do. It used to be 4hrs and I slowly ramped it up to 5hrs now.

As for on times, I let the LEDs start ramping up at 5pm. Full lighting on at 7pm. I do this just to save on hydro. Stupid smart meters.....

Your lighting schedule looks similar to mine.... My t5s start ramping up at 4pm....I run my lights at night because that's when I'm home, but yes it definitely helps if you have a smart meter installed and are being charged different rates for the peak and off peak hours.


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[davesolo29]

Don't like to clean you glass? You like the toys Robosnail

[youtube]EwsEwuSJRsA[/youtube]

I want one!!

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

Are those even available? Did it actually come to market?

yes theya re available. i seen them somewhere online ..look in one of the usa online stores