lighting question

[slowjazz]

I have a solar Xtreme HO448 on a 55gal setup. LR, Xenia and one Kedds Red. (yep, one little guy on my Xenia frag ) It currently sits at the bottom of the tank and looks like it is happy. Fishwise... tomato clown,damsels,hermits,snails,serpent star.

My question(s)
I have the Deep Blue T5 actinic lights turn on at 7:30am, the 10k turns on at 8:30 and then the 10k turns off at 4:30pm and the actinic turns off at 9:00pm.

Is this ok.. too much or too little light?
I'm assuming that leaving the 10k and actinic on at the same time is better then just leaving the 10k on by itself? (looks better tank wise)

ie: have the 10k come on 8:30 to 4:30 and then the actintic come on 4:30 to 9:00.
Should I look into the blue+ lights instead of using the actinic lights that come with the Solar Xtreme? What do you guys recommend?

thanks for your help

 

[slowjazz]

anybody? Should I re-post this on the Q&A forum?

 

[dawgface]

I think you would have a better response if you simplify your question.

How many bulbs are in that unit?

When I had T-5 (6 bulb) on my 72g I had the actinics on for 11 hours and whites on for 8. This seemed best for me for algea control and maximum lighting. As far as lighting cycles go, I would shoot for the maximum exposure while keeping algea managable. Whot worked for my application may or may not work for yours.

 

[ripped tide]

If it is a new tank, to avoid excess algae, I would only run the light for a total of 4-5 hrs. After a few weeks bump it up to 5-6, a few weeks later 6-7 and then 7-8 total hours. A photo period only takes about 3 hrs, but most of us enjoy watching the tank. I personally run my lights(white and blues) for 3.5hrs(9-12:30) and then off for 7(12:30-7:30) and then back on for 5hrs(7:30-12:30). This gives my corals a photo period, followed by a rest/growth period and then followed by another photo period and then finally a long rest/growth period. I have been maintaining this lighting cycle since April and have seen pretty nice results.

 

[slowjazz]

Ripped Tide;693460 wrote: If it is a new tank, to avoid excess algae, I would only run the light for a total of 4-5 hrs. After a few weeks bump it up to 5-6, a few weeks later 6-7 and then 7-8 total hours. A photo period only takes about 3 hrs, but most of us enjoy watching the tank. I personally run my lights(white and blues) for 3.5hrs(9-12:30) and then off for 7(12:30-7:30) and then back on for 5hrs(7:30-12:30). This gives my corals a photo period, followed by a rest/growth period and then followed by another photo period and then finally a long rest/growth period. I have been maintaining this lighting cycle since April and have seen pretty nice results.

The unit has 4 bulbs and moon leds. (2 - ac blue and 2 - 10k)
Af far as I know, I can only program each pair to come on and turn off. (sounds like you have yours going on and off twice a day?)
Basicly it is setup as:
blue on at 7:30am, white on at 8:30, white off at 4:30 and blue off at 9:00pm. (so blue and white are on from 8:30am to 4:30pm)

 

[ripped tide]

How Long have you had the tank set up, and has this unit been the source of light since day 1? How is your algae growth?

 

[slowjazz]

Ripped Tide;693544 wrote: How Long have you had the tank set up, and has this unit been the source of light since day 1? How is your algae growth?

Tank is about 4 months old now. LR are coloring nice. algae growth has been very small. (knock wood ) I see an orange dust coat on the glass about every four days or so. Sand stays pretty clean.

I have one kedd redd and a few Xenias that I am assuming like all the light. (they are at the bottom of a 55gal tank setup)

 

[ripped tide]

I have my lights coming on and off twice a day is for two reasons:

1. Pleasure. I wake up around 8:30 every day and by the time I get out of the shower the lights are on and I can enjoy the tank for an hour before I go to work. I get home around 8:30 and the lights are on again. If I kept the lights on the whole time, I would be scrubbing algae daily.

2. Tricking the coral. As I said in one of the previous posts, a photo period only takes about three hours. In order for a single photo period to be used by the coral, the coral needs a rest/growth period(night time). So if you have your lights on for 9hrs a day, you should get three useful photo periods, right? Not quite... only the first will be used. In nature, corals are exposed to light for a lot longer than 3 hours a day, but the catch is, corals need a certain intensity of light before they can even begin photosynthesis. The light produced from the sun generally only peaks at a high enough intensity to complete a full photo cycle for a few hours each day.

With all that being said, I have been trying to see if I can achieve faster coral growth by getting two photo cycles a day instead of one. I've been using these lighting cycles since april, and have seen positive results.