Lighting Help!!

[H2oH2o]

Hey guys my tank is starting to heat up at the peak of the day, and I have some algae growth. I have a tank that is just over a month old. It is doing exceptionaly well, it is cycling good. I have a 2 250 watt metal halide setup on a 70 gallon tank. My current lighting schedule is on at 11 and off at 7. I bought some coral last weekend and yesterday all my coral starting opening up real nice and getting used to the tank. My question is I wanted to put each halide on its own timer, 1 on at 11, the other on at 2, then the first one off at 4, then the second off at 7. Do you guys think this change will make my new coral upset because it seems there used to my lighting schedule.

Thanks alot
Josh

[airdog67]

I have the same heating problem in the summer months, because I dont want to spend the money on a chiller. I found that by using a little desk type fan and blowing it over the water on top of the tank works, as well as using a fan to blow in the sump of fug if you have one. just a cheap idea.

[H2oH2o]

My heating issue isnt the real problem, it peaks at 82 degrees. I can live with that. My real concern is the coral that seems to have taking a liking to my current lighting hours. So would it be a problem if I changed the lighting hours?

[airdog67]

I would try changing the hours but like anything in this hobby, try changing the lighting slowly over a couple of weeks, if the corals start to change for the better, your golden.

[Poorcollegereef]

I used to keep my lights stagnated, and then switched back. I really saw no difference in my coral's reaction and health. The only reason I switched back was to free up an outlet and run both lamps on one timer. I also liked seeing my tank totally lit rather than only one light lit. I am unaware of any potential benefits of stagnating the lights. For some reason, it always looks cooler on larger, very long tanks with other supplemental lighting than on smaller tanks.