Dumb light question

[rayn]

When does everyone run their lights? Morning to night or night to morning? Or is a timer the way to go and have a mix inbetween.

[jenjen]

Definitely get a timer - it makes keeping the lighting cycle consistent. I run mine during the day - the main lights run 11am-7pm and the actinics go an hour or two longer on either side. But you can adjust your light schedule to suit your life - if you're home more in the evening you can start your lights later and run them later into the evening as well.

[Percula9]

I agree on lighting schedule that fits your needs.

[thebkramer]

When does everyone run their lights? Morning to night or night to morning? Or is a timer the way to go and have a mix inbetween.

There are no dumb questions!!! Only dumb answers!!

I agree with getting a timer! Makes life easier and better!
My actinics come on at 7:30 am daylights on at 9am
daylights off at 7pm actinics off at 8pm
Then the night critters come out to play!!

[thegrun]

but... I would not split the light cycle (i.e. 4 hours light in the day, then dark followed by 4 hours of additional light at night).

[daniel89]

my actinics come on at 12pm then at 1pm my MH turns on then my MH turn off at 8pm then my actinics turn off at 10pm.

I usually sleep till about 10-11am so why run the lights when im sleeping :(

[weeftard]

i run my lights on that same time frame but i wonder about it because my fish are already awake when the lights come on at 11am and some corals are extended from the little sun light that comes in from behind the curtains so im curious if i should just start the lights when the sun comes up. i wonder if the extra period of light would contribute to nusiance algea

[travis32]

I run my actinics and daylight lights at the same time, turn on and off at the same time.. but I"ve just got a PC light fixture, so It would be a manual process to separate the two.

And yes the fish are awake and out and playing and corals starting to extend due to the ambient light in the room. But, that's fine. More closely similates dawn anyways.. My lights turn on at noon and turn off at 11.

[rayn]

So the room my tank is in has a french door to the outside and a big picture window on the other wall. The french door is going to get some shades put on it soon to block some of the light. So with this much light coming into the room, I already pretty much simulate the sun rise by...... using sun rise. I just need to get my lights on a timer. Thanks for the replies/ideas

[thebkramer]

i run my lights on that same time frame but i wonder about it because my fish are already awake when the lights come on at 11am and some corals are extended from the little sun light that comes in from behind the curtains so im curious if i should just start the lights when the sun comes up. i wonder if the extra period of light would contribute to nusiance algea


Thats what I do. As the sun rises and sets and changes, so does my timer. I guess its all preference. I use to wait till 9am, but I ended up losing alot of my night critters due to my day guys getting up and eating them. So...I no longer wait, my lights come on when the sun starts adding light in living room. I don't want to lose any more crabs or snails!!!!