How long to leave the lights on?

[Marcellina]

I have been keeping my 50 MH lights on my 29G tank for up to 12 hours a day and then leaving on the blue LED lights on some nights for the remaining hours.

Is this too long with the MHs? I just like looking at my tank and cant help keeping the lights on for that long but if its not good for the inhabitants I will shorten the hours.

I have no algae except coraline growing in my tank. My corals are growing well.

 

[saltygeek75]

My opinion , I think thats way to many hours. I run 2x150 mh and run them for 4 1/2 hours and the rest of the time i run Blue LED's.

 

[OOtzie]

If I'm not mistaken, I believe the general rule is 8-10 hours of day light. What I do for my reef setup is have the atinic's turn on a half hour before the day lights then turn off a half hour after the day lights to sim dawn&dusk followed by blue LED's for moonlight.

 

[Marcellina]

I have a Sunpod that have a 150W MH 14K bulb and white and blue LEDs

I have the blue LEDs on at night and then in the morning I put the MH for 10-12 hrs.

What should I be doing? the white leds half hour then the MH for 8 hrs then the white leds for half hour then the blue leds for night?

Salty Geek I think 4.5 hrs is too short?? I was thinking along the same lines as OOtzies schedule maybe only 6 or 8 hours of MHs on. Now Im not sure, I have been running the Sunpod with MHs only a couple of months now. Hope some other members will chime in.

What benefits or disadvantages does this create? None of my corals or fish look worse for wear, actually the contrary.

 

[fab1971]

2rs dawn and 2hrs dusk. 6-8 hrs 150 mh 14k a day.

 

[saltygeek75]

Ive had my set up for 2 1/2 years and this is what ive done for the last year. I find that the corals do better for me this way. when i was running the light 8 hrs a day i was having problems with the corals not doing good. THIS is they way i do my set up. I have no problems with any corals or any fish.

I also have a SPS thank and on that i have T5 Ho's that tank i run 8 hrs of light.

 

[Lenny718]

If its not broke than don't fix it. I also have a Sunpod but a 250w version and I run my MH for almost 12hrs cause I also love to look at my tank. My light cycle is 11am actinics come on, 12pm MH comes on, 11pm MH go out, 12am my actinics go out and my moonlights stay on all day and night. My corals and fish couldn't be happier.

 

[Marcellina]

I guess everyones tanks are different. If I dont put the lights on in my tank it stays very dark bc the room its in is always dark. I have tried to keeo the lights on fewer hours but I found that my corals not really thriving. when I started giving in to my urge to look at my tank longer periods of time and leave the lights on longer they started growing more and coloring up better.

I too end up leaving the blue leds on all the time. Just in the morning and evening after I turn the MH do I put the white leds on for about half an hour.

I just watned to know if this affects the fish or corals in a negative way somehow, it doesnt seem that way but Im still a beginner.

 

[anthony27]

alot of ppl I know they leave the mh on for about 4 to 5 hrs

ok

morning atinics
then mh come on
mh run with atinics
then mh turns of and atinics are on then
all off and just leds on.

 

[Chraddam]

Hi Marcellina, this is what has worked for me. Two 4LED strips come on at 8 am. Blue actinics around 9 am, then MH from 12 to 4 pm. Blue actinics off at 7, then LED's off at 8pm. This is on a 24g nanocube, with the MH and actinics about 8 inches above the tank on a stand i DIY'd. I recently upgraded(yesterday, actually) and moved most of my corals into my 40g fowler, and I will be retiring and/or selling/trading the MH/Actinic set-up. My firm belief is that the LEDs have become the main source of light for the corals, and I base thei on the fact that they wake up 5 minutes after the LEDs go on, and close when the LEDs shut off. The other lights seem to compliment the LEDs, and NOT the other way around, as some believe.

As for the corals, I get INCREDIBLE growth, fast and furious. This may also have to do with feeding and water changing, which i do religiously, but I really think it is the LEDs that really make it work. I upgraded because my leathers, zoas, kenya trees, torches, hammers, even candy canes are growing AND reproducing at such a high rate that, even with fragging for the swaps, there is still not enough room for their growth!!!

And Lenny-don't give me crazy ideas about leaving my LEDs on 24/7!!!

 

[cmor1701d]

Corals grown in near equatorial waters have a 12+ hour light cycle (Fiji etc.) That's what led to the "standard" 12 hour light cycle so many people use. Combo units with MH and actinics are usually run on the 10/12 schedule that Lenney referred to:
Actinics on for an hour, MH on for 10, Actinics off an hour later, giving you a 12 hour photo period including the dawn/dusk effect.

 

[fab1971]

If I leave my MH on too long I see some of my corals retreat into their skeletons. Usually anything over 6-7 hours and those corals start to lose their puffiness. That is why I keep the dawn + dusk on longer. I am however receiving some led lights and that might change things around. While some corals require less intense lighting (4-6 hrs), I'm sure others in my tank would do better if I gave more (8-10 hrs). I'm hoping that with led's running the full 12 hr span, those light hungry corals in my tank will benefit, without damaging the other sensitive ones.

 

[cmor1701d]

It sounds like you have a coral placement issue. Some of your corals may need to be placed lower in the tank or in partially shaded areas. Once all the corals are properly placed so the high light corals are near the top and the others are at mid or bottom level you can start acclimating all the coral to increasing light. Start by adding a half hour or so a week.

 

[fab1971]

It sounds like you have a coral placement issue. Some of your corals may need to be placed lower in the tank or in partially shaded areas. Once all the corals are properly placed so the high light corals are near the top and the others are at mid or bottom level you can start acclimating all the coral to increasing light. Start by adding a half hour or so a week.

Wish I had a bigger tank to do as you say but in my 29 gallon tank, it's hard to put a large pink brain in the shade(have a green one too but he loves the light). Wish I had the money to get another tank to help with this problem but don't have to tell you guys how the economy is running these days. My Duncan colony which spread from 2 heads to 8 in a few months also doesn't like too much light. I have him partially in the shade but he will still recede with too many hrs of mh.