photoperiod?....sps

[Islander84]

Is it bad to run t5 actinics for 14 hrs? almost all sps.... MH on for 8 hrs...

4 39 w t5ho 2 geisemann actinic+....1 uvl superactinic....1uvl 14,000k

And does anyone have any other suggestion for t5 bulbs over sps....the mh are phoenix 14k.......trying to hit all lighting spectrums.... Thanks

 

[sahin]

It's not bad per se, but I would not go any higher. As long as the corals are not bleaching then that is the max I would illuminate my corals.

 

[Islander84]

as of now i am running from 730am to 800pm (t5's) 830 to 330..only running 7 for now...will go back to 8..... t5's turn on at 730 so i can observe before heading out for work....but i only get to enjoy for a few hours after i get home....would it do harm if i turned them on for say 30 min to an hour at 730 then back on again around 9 and start photoperiod then r would that be a bad idea and can the ac jr even do such a thing.

 

[joker295]

y dont you turn your lights on later in the day so you can enjoy your tank more at night..... i dont have my lights kick on till 230 pm and are on til midnight

 

[Islander84]

i was just concerned about my corals health by turning t5 lights on for an hour then back off for 2 then back on to start reg photoperiod....?

 

[curlykid]

i think he means only turn them on at night.

 

[Islander84]

I guess I could try that.....maybe on at 11....what about coming on for an hour at7 ....is the ac jr capable of doing that

 

[jimmy_beaner]

What about getting some moonlights that are bright enough to see the inhabitants, but not bright enough to disturb the corals? You could then have those come on in the morning for your observation without over exposing your corals.

 

[Islander84]

I thought about that ....found some cool ones at superbrightleds.com. the flexible waterproof light bars ....guess I could also use them for accent lighting since the leds would help make colors more vibrant

 

[ros_sco]

I run my actinic led's from 7:30AM to 11PM and my MH from 11:30 AM to 7PM

 

[Islander84]

Cool. Thanks for replys guys.

 

[Pallobi]

my actinics run about 13 hours, and my daylights are at 6... no problems here... but you'll need to know your corals and keep an eye on them to make sure there are no ill effects, as well as increase the photoperiod slowly, dont jus lengthen it by 4 hours out of nowhere, that will only give you problems for sure...

 

[tqpolo]

My lights start to come on at 4pm and off at 1am. No need to look at them in the morning.

 

[batt600]

It is not good to run more then 5 Hour a day of day light. Anything more than that exhausts the zoanthids in sps. Blues can runn for 12h a day.