light question

[caldwellm]

hey guys!
I have a 55 gallon reef tank with DIY lights, so my question is- i hadnt rigged them up to leave any lights on when you turn them off... so for the past month or so i have been leaving the lights on around the clock- Is there any reason i shouldnt be able to just turn off all the lights at night? It just seems to stress out the corals and anemone pretty badly... so i get discouraged... Seems dumb to think they cant go without light for 7 or 8 hours a day though...

Thanks for hte help guys!

Also, while im talking... Any tips on helping a clown along in choosing to host an anemone?
Thanks guys!!!

--Michael

 

[seedless reefer]

Why not hook them up to a timer and give the tank a day/night cycle?

 

[bzwaagstra]

What may have stressed out your corals and anemones was the sudden off/on cycle. Do you have multiple lights on different power supplies? If so you can timer them so that they stager off one after the other and then stager on on in the morning. Homedepot sells a heavy duty outdoor model with two outlets and up to 7 on/off cycles per day.

With your lights on all the time you must battle algae non stop. And boy ... the electric bill!

With a night cycle other things in your tank will do well. There are nocturnal anemones, copepods, amphipods, worms and much more.

Also other creates will feed best in the dawn/dusk periods.

 

[caldwellm]

thats just it-
my lights are all on one circuit- all wired into one plug lol- so in order to turn off any lights, all go off--- so thats what i was curious about, is it acceptable to have no light on at night? or do i need to look into installing some smaller dimmer lights for night time?

Thanks again guys!

 

[bzwaagstra]

Its acceptable to have no lights on at all. But the transition is kind of a shock. I'd have a dim light on (i.e. moon light) to lesson the transition and to see the night time critters.

Is there any ambient light at all? Usually things are not totally dark as there is light coming from the moon, street lights, etc.

 

[caldwellm]

there is a little bit of light from the streetlights, but it is very very dim-- Im thinking teh best solution may be to wire in some extra smaller blue lights on the sides on a different plug to create a moonlight illusion-- hmm lol

 

[bzwaagstra]

Someone recently suggested a rope light kit from Home Depot or Lowes. You can get them in colors (i.e. blue) in 6 foot increments and they are relatively low heat (depends on what you compare them to). Should cost about $12 plus the cost of a timer.

 

[caldwellm]

thats an AWESOME idea! i would never have thought of a rope light- perfect! Thank you VERY much!!!

 

[linda lee]

You could also put a nightlight near the tank.

Seriously.

 

[caldwellm]

thats a great idea as well
Thanks again for the quick, helpful responses guys! Dont know what id do without the good ol' ARC
--Michael