light cycle

[eburgiss]

I looked for this question but not real hard so I'll ask again....

What is the "best" cycle for lighting a mixed reef with SPS and LPS corals? I am hoping to have up to ten fish as well. Is this too many fish?

I have a 90 gal with with 130# of LR and a 25 gal fuge. 2 10k 175 watt MH, 2 96 watt actinic's, and 2 1 watt moon LED's.

Is the reverse light cycle on the fuge the way to go?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Hop]

Well lets try to answer the best we can
There is no, set in stone best lighting schedule. There are so many factors that play here, that I can't tell you X... Even things like ambient light from windows plays a roll here.

Same with ten fish. Depends on their size, filtration, the ability for them to hide and what type of fish.

I would start with 4-6 hours on the MH and 9-10 hours on the PC. An example might be, PC lights on at 11am, MH on at 2pm. MH off at 7pm and PC off at 10pm. Then moon lights on from 10 to 2am. Then adjust the schedule as needed. Some corals need more, some need less. You may wind up running the MH up to 9 hours and the PC up to 12. You have to watch your livestock and go from there.

And yes the fuge on opposite schedule helps maintain the pH at night.

Good luck!