How long should my lights be on?

[DopeCantWin]

I'm using the following combination for my 90

2 x 250 MH in the Outer Orbit(crappy reflectors) feature using the 20k XMs
1 x 48" Reefbrite Actinic
1 x 48" Reefbrite 50/50

What do you think my lighting schedule should be?

 

[Phsycodelic81]

I would start at 8 hours and experiment a little. I do a split cycle of 4 hours twice a day for increased coral growth and to reduce tank heat a little

 

[SPSEMPIRE]

Here is what I would do. (To keep the math simple, I am using my light schedule as an example. IMO, you don't have to run the 50/50 but they are factored into the equation since you already are running them.

11:00 am Actinic ON
11:30 am 50/50 ON
12:00 Noon MH ON
8:00 pm MH OFF
8:30 pm 50/50 OFF
9:00 pm Actinic OFF

This gives you a nice sunrise and sunset replication.

If you don't want to run the 50/50 bulbs than you can do this. I wouldn't waste the power by running them during the day with the 50/50 bulbs.

11:00 am Actinic ON
11:30 am 50/50 ON
12:00 Noon 50/50 OFF
12:00 Noon MH ON
8:00 pm MH OFF
8:00 pm 50/50 ON
8:30 pm 50/50 OFF
9:00 pm Actinic OFF

 

[reefmanmatt]

i run my halides for 8 and my supplemental for 12 , same as spsempire just stretched out a bit longer

 

[DopeCantWin]

I've actually been decreasing my MH light and getting better results. Right now I'm at 5.5 hours on the MH and 10+ hours on supplemental. Don't know if it matters, but I have way too many nutrients for an SPS system, but this is decreasing quickly. I've gone from 20 to under 10 in the last week. An option is to get rid of the MH completely and replace it with something like 4 6500 t5s. Or possibly http://premiumaquatics.com/store/me...ode=PA&Product_Code=RB-XHO-48W&Category_Code=.

 

[bryman]

Man those LEDs are expensive, but nice. If you wanted to swap the MHs for T5s and still use your nice LED strips, you could go with the 4 bulb Sunpower: http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/ATI-3009.html
You could probably even mount the LED strips to the Sunpower. Then you could hang it and be able to easily raise and lower it.

I love my 6 bulb Sunpower, but with your LEDs a 4 bulb should be more than sufficient. If you wanted to be really fancy you could get the dimmable Sunpower for about $130 more.

 

[DopeCantWin]

Man those LEDs are expensive, but nice. If you wanted to swap the MHs for T5s and still use your nice LED strips, you could go with the 4 bulb Sunpower: http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/ATI-3009.html
You could probably even mount the LED strips to the Sunpower. Then you could hang it and be able to easily raise and lower it.

I love my 6 bulb Sunpower, but with your LEDs a 4 bulb should be more than sufficient. If you wanted to be really fancy you could get the dimmable Sunpower for about $130 more.

I actually have an old 2 bulb lying around. So what I've been kicking around is getting a canopy and the parts for another 2 bulbs. Then I would just use parts of my old one to create a 4 bulb fixture inside the canopy.

 

[bryman]

Thats cool. Just make sure you get good reflectors and cooling for the t5s, as those are the most important parts.