split photoperiods ?

[SALTWATERSIG]

last summer i split my photo periods into a 4 hour moning and then a 5 hour evening , to avoid heat issues from running halides 9 hours in a row during peak hot daytime hours. i was too lazy to change my timers during winter and here we are going into warmer climate again. my question: is there any advantage or disadvantage in running lights this way? i did'nt experiance any coral die off or anything like that but i was wondering if coral growth would get any faster with one longer photoperiod instead of two short ones.

 

[SALTWATERSIG]

opinions anyone?

 

[Bri Guy]

bump, im intrested in this too, It would help cool down the tank during the mid day.

 

[fijiblue]

Nature doesn't do it...why should we

I've heard rumors that since corals calcify at night that they would grow faster, but this is obviously pure speculation.

 

[MrZ]

I'm thinking about a 5pm to 1am photoperiod this summer. The house I bought doesn't have central air and between delaying the halides and a basement sump I'm hoping to avoid a chiller and still keep the water temp below 80 degrees. Time will tell.

 

[Toddrtrex]

Now I am not sure if this applies to MH bulbs or not, but I know with incandescent bulbs, turning them on is were most of the damage is done. So, splitting the photoperiod would double the amount of on/off cycles and would shorten the lifespan. Like I said, not sure if this applies to MH, but it is something to consider.