shorter photo period = faster growth

[Saulsa]

i originally ran my MHs over my 90 for 10 hours.. on my new tank (1 month old ) i decided to start out with 9 hours of actinic and 5 hours of MHs.. 2 corals in particular are showing a huge amount of growth inside 2 weeks- especially on a new tank.. my zoos and LPS seem to be more vibrant as well (as anecdotal as that observation is).

i would have to agree to the "survival mode" concept.. similar to snipping tips of stunted growth corals.

 

[kev apsley]

all I know is I'm even noticing better growth in my LPS and one finicky monti that I have had for over 2 years and I could never get it to color up, is finally starting to color, it's really amazing indeed

my other thought is, when we see all these threads about adding AA's and supplementation to get better coloration, could it be all along all we had to do was cut back on our photperiod??

 

[kev apsley]

but I do think this only works if you have nmore than ample amounts of light to begin with, some people don't have a ton of light over their systems but most of us do

 

[george1532]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14480736#post14480736 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dwhanc00
This is a great topic! Could someone starting this lower photo period, who has a good camera, post before and after pictures? That would be a great help! I actually just started about 2 weeks ago and reduced it down to 12 hours antics and 9 hours MH (2-250 reeflux 12k). I have noticed my tri-color starting to show blue tips . I am about to knock it down to 8 hours, then down to 7 in another week. Antics I am going to move to 10 hours.

We just got some new blue LED lights for moonlight. It is pretty bright and they are running for 12 hours. Not trying to hijack, but do the corals maybe consider that almost like sunset and they are not getting any rest?

Wish I had a good camera! You cannot even tell the true colors with it.

Today is the first day I have cut down the light cycle in my tank. I cut it down from 9 hours to 7 hours, and soon to be 6. I have before pictures and will post some after photos in a few weeks.

My tank is a 20L with mostly SPS and I use a 175w 14k with no supplemental actintic, but I'd say I've got plenty of light.

I'm curious to see what happens.

 

[dwhanc00]

George: keep us updated! Thanks!

I cut mine down again last night and forgot to tell the wife, opps! She called me at work freaking out! She normally watches the tank with her coffee in the morning and the lights didn't come on.

New times are antics on at 9:30 am off at 8:30 pm, MH on at 11:30 am off at 6:30, Moonlights on at midnight and off at 9:30 am.

That gives 3 hours of complete darkness then moonlights for 9 1/2 hours. Do you all think that is too much moonlight? I have 6 blue LED lights 13,000 mcd wide angle lenses. Thought it would be better to give everything a nice rest after all day light then warm them back up before the lights come back on. Any thoughts?

 

[spsfreak]

Dwhanc00, I think that would be fine. In the wild in most shallow reefs, if the moon is out, they get very close to what you are talking about, that is the "moonlight" effect.

 

[dwhanc00]

Thanks spsfreak! The only thing is sometimes I like to look at the moonlight when the lights go off, o well! Rather have good growth and color that a late night peak!

 

[macreefster]

question.....do moonlights have much effect on the corals or are they pretty much just for us to view our tanks at night?

i have adjusted my lighting schedule as follows.....actinics only from 7-10 am, halides only from 10am to 5pm, actinics only from 5-7pm and moonlight LED's from 7pm to 7am. should i have a totally dark period instead of the moonlights on all night?

 

[ReefEnabler]

the OP mentioned benefits when setting up a total dark period in the moonlights overnight, but he also changed the regular photoperiod at the same time. this of course makes it difficult to determine causation.

personally I've run moonlights all night for 6 months now. during this time I've seen corals lose color, gain color and everything in between, so I dont personally think its a major factor unless your moonlights are putting out too much PAR.

I recently changed my moonlights to have a total darkness period of about 5 hours but had no real reason behind the decision, was just tweaking all my photoperiods and decided to tweak the moons.

 

[king1966]

I WILL TRY IT TO. I HAVE BEEN RUNNING MH 10HR AND ACTINIC 12HR BUT SHOULD I STILL RUN MOONLIGHT?

 

[pusanpa]

I cut down from 9hr daylight + 11hr actinic to 7hr daylight + 10hr actinic. It has been about a week and everything looks just better already.
My bleached monti is finally coloring back up, zoas and LPS are fatter.

 

[xJake]

My experience:

I just recently started increasing my photoperiod length in an attempt to increase growth rates (10 hours - 12 hours). Counter to my hypothesis, growth has nearly ceased with every coral in the system. Almost every Acropora sp. coral has turned brown or dark green, and polyp extension is just not what it used to be. All major water parameters are tested for 3x per week, and nothing has changed in any significant way. Calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium are all regularly maintained within adequate ranges.

I'll take some photos of the corals now, and then of the same corals as I decrease the photoperiod, over the next week or so, to as low as 5 hours. That way it will help to illustrate the changes that many are describing. Also, I might be able to use it as my project for my coral research class... which would be a plus

 

[Oldude]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14499834#post14499834 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by king1966
I WILL TRY IT TO. I HAVE BEEN RUNNING MH 10HR AND ACTINIC 12HR BUT SHOULD I STILL RUN MOONLIGHT?

I run my moonlights for a few hours on each end of the light cycle and have pretty good colour. I use them for a better sunrise/sunset effect.

Interesting how the fish react,,,, anybody else notice how the fish act so differently during the various light phases?

 

[Ace1]

OK, since my original post, i have noticed remarkable coloration, and extra growth nodules on birds nest, more polyps on monti and new growth on caps.. This is my first time looking at this thread since my original post on 2/22/09 and im in awe that so many people have had similar experiences, particulatly with color along with growth.

More thoughts
I noticed that when i cut the moonlights out the PE is better during the day, so i would assume that moonlights or their color can be a limiting factor and/or tiering the corals out.
Also i have experimented with dark days in the past with very good success but it was for an LPS dominated system and a way combat nuisance algae and clear the water.
Therefore it may be an even better idea to cut and/or change the photo period a few days out of the week in an attemp to simulate natural cycles of gloom, cloud cover etc.

My Logic
In nature corals dont get max sunlight every day all day all year, cloudy days, gloomy and rainy days are all apart of the cycle, and if Nature is as perfect and effecient as most beleive wouldnt she find a way for her creations to benefit from all that she has to offer by way of light cycles?? IT JUST MAKES SENSE

I wish i had a better camera to get some before and after pics..

If anybody trying this has a good cam please document your experience..
Also any articles that can be found would be great as well, this could be a great go green way to propogate and preserve reefs..

 

[Ace1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14499834#post14499834 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by king1966
I WILL TRY IT TO. I HAVE BEEN RUNNING MH 10HR AND ACTINIC 12HR BUT SHOULD I STILL RUN MOONLIGHT?

i did notice better pe during the day when i cut the moonlights

 

[bagged87blayzer]

Ok I have a question about the gloomy days and dark days. Are you making it where one day you have no lights on and another day where you just run them maybe a couple hours?

 

[Ace1]

more thoughts regarding the 24 hour photoperiod for better brightness

on land if there is too much sunlight higher evolved plant and vegetation life suffer from what is called a DROUGHT, of course seeds and many things still survive this period but it is generally a stressful time for most species of animal and plant life.
Could this be true on the reefs? It would seems so as many evolved life forms would have to adjust to heat, UV overexposure, many corals may not have a chance to HUNT at night etc
Also the reefs could experience Algae blooms of plague proportions causing less evolved life forms and many single celled organism to dominate..

Based on this view of how Nature has performed in the past it would seem like a 24 hour photoperoid would be better followed by a 24-48 hour dark day.. Could this be the other part of these reefers secret?

Other than that a 24 hour photoperiod seems very primative and synthetic when viewed from a Purely Natural perspective.

**note**
im not at all advanced in the chemistry or scientific aspect of all this so i could be missing many pieces to the puzzle, my logic come simply from viewing and comparing things to what Nature has shown us in the past and continues to show us everyday.

 

[king1966]

I have notice alot of changes in my tank more color and more growth on my sps corals and more bloom on hammer and frog spawns. I will keep my lighting at mh 5hrs and acnitic at 12 hrs

 

[runningstix]

I too joined the shortened photoperiod club.

Went from 12 hours of VHO to 10 hours
and from 8 hours MH to 6 hours

I have a lot of light on my tank so hopefully this helps.

2x250 new style icecaps with SE icecap 14ks on a 58g tank

 

[bagged87blayzer]

So here is the new lighting schedule.
First of my tank.
28 gallon EcoSystems Mini Refuge Model
150 Watt Current Sunpod HQI

Schedule:
<b>Blue LEDs</b> - 24hrs - till I get another timer then Noon-3pm & Midnight-3am
<b>White LEDS</b> - 3pm-5pm & 10pm-Midnight
<b>MH</b> - 5pm-10pm

This will be everyday Except Wednesday where there will be no lights for 24 hours.
What does everyone think about it?
Should I change something?
Right now I have some SPS that have lost a lot of color. Still have PE but are basically brow because I actually just upgraded to the bigger tank from my 10 gallon and had a spike in my levels.