Day/Night Cycle

[deputydawg88]

I have an AquaOne MariGlo LED light and I try to keep my lights on for approximately 10-12 hours per day but I rarely use just the blue light. I currently manually switch the lights on and off myself, however in time I am going to be setting them to timers. My question is; should I be setting it up so that the blue light comes on first in a morning, followed by the white and the white light going of earlier than the blue light in the evening?

This is a very newbie question but I am somewhat confused as to what the blue LEDs are for, other than to give a bluish hue to the tank when the white light is on?

 

[mcgyvr]

Yes you can have the blues come on first for 30 minutes or whatever before the "whites" come on and then stay on for 30 minutes or whatever after the whites turn off..

For the most part is personal preference though so do what you like..
Thats certainly not going to make or break a tank if you don't or do that..

 

[deputydawg88]

I had a feeling it might be personal preference but I personally find it a bit jarring myself with the lights just suddenly coming on. If the fish were more sentient, they'd feel like they were in the Truman Show.

I kind of want to make it as close to 'nature' as I possibly can so just having the lights suddenly springing on doesn't really sit right with me. Alas, getting lights that gradually brighten over the course of a few hours and then dim in the same way later on is currently beyond my budget.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I had a feeling it might be personal preference but I personally find it a bit jarring myself with the lights just suddenly coming on. If the fish were more sentient, they'd feel like they were in the Truman Show.

I kind of want to make it as close to 'nature' as I possibly can so just having the lights suddenly springing on doesn't really sit right with me. Alas, getting lights that gradually brighten over the course of a few hours and then dim in the same way later on is currently beyond my budget.

What mcgyvr said is 100% right.

But your desire to have the tank start the day a bit softer is understandable. The corals don't care and the fish will get used to it. But that's also why some of us have lights that really do a slow and easy sunrise and sunset. I know that it has next to no affect on anything in the tank... but I like it better. And for me, it's a better show in the tank to be watched, especially at my sunset.:thumbsup: