4 bulb t5 fixture lighting schedule

[Aquageek450]

Hey guys I have a 4 bulb T5 HO fixture above my 29gal tank. It's an Aquaticlife brand. I have 2 blue+, 1 purple+ and a coral+. The fixture has a build in timer where I can control when the two blue lights come on and then when the other two lights come on. It's also got 2 LED night lights. I plan on having a mixed reef tank with some fish. What would be the best all around timer for these bulbs? I'd like to set it and not have to worry about it. Thanks!

[cody6766]

The best thing, in my opinion, is a Reef Keeper Lite. It will let you control the lights with two sockets and control a heater and a fan with the other two. It's $120 in insurance to protect you from a heater from getting stuck open. I've had this happen in the past and it sucks when you see hundreds of dollars in livestock die when $120 could have prevented it.

If you don't want to go that route, just use the internal timers or buy some mechanical timers from Walmart, or other store. I'd recommend the controller no matter what your lighting plans are.

[Aquageek450]

I already have a aquatic life 4 bulb fixture with a built in timer. Just wondering what time intervals I should run.

[ViktorVaughn]

I have the same fixture and run the blue channel from 900am-800pm, white from 12-6, and the blue leds turn on and off an hour before and after the blue channel.

[Docdiggy]

I run a purple+ and blue+ from 9-7 and my other blue+ and coral+ are on 10-6. I have all types of coral.

[Reef Frog]

8 to 12 hours per day is typical. Having the ability to ramp on & off 2 bulbs at a time is nice but not mandatory. I keep mine on about 10 hours per day.

[Aquageek450]

great, thank you guys!

[Scott07]

I have the same fixture, and am also running 2 blue plus, 1 coral plus, and 1 purple plus. I'm running nearly the same schedule as ViktorVaughn. I've been wondering about this myself. I find corals blue much more in my tank than they typically are in the store where I purchase them. I'm not talking about browning corals regaining color... but about corals with areas of purple, pink, etc.. which ultimately turn blue in my tank. I've wondered if i'm exposing my tank to too much blue light, and not enough full spectrum? Any input would be appreciated!