Should all the lights on the aquarium come on in one go? Or, actinic first then halides, or vice-versa???....Should I also stagger the halides when they come on and go off??
Most people have the actinics come on first and go off last to simulate the natural sunrise and sunset .I had mine come on 15 minutes before my other lights kicked on.On my tank with MH lights I don`t have actinics so they all come on at the same time.
I have my vhos come on early in the morning, first thing. Then a 175 w halide comes on about an hour later, then around 11:00 am the 250w halide comes on to simulate the High noon sun and stays on about 7 hours. They go off respectively the same way. Moonlites come on about an hour after lights out. I try to simulate the progression of natural sunlight as much as I can.
