switching from PC to t5 lighting

[CUfishfan]

So I finally got decent lighting for my 75 wanna-be reef . I had about 110w of PC lighting, which was keeping my mushrooms alive but I had no splits in 4 months.

Yesterday, my new Nova Extreme Pro (6x54w) showed up (though I didn't get the chance to set it up).

My question(s) are... does the order of the bulbs matter? For now I have the stock 3-10k and 3-actinic.

-what is a reasonable lighting schedule while transitioning? (I don't want to shock anything in the system.. should I start with 4-5 hrs lighting and ramp up to about 10? How long should the transition be? How much time can I add per day/week?

-What is the best photo-period? I plan to add some LPS and maybe try out some SPS. 10 hrs? 12 hrs? What about actinic only vs. all bulbs?

Thanks so much!! Also, any suggestions on starter LPS and SPS?

 

[ginger7286]

I am just getting ready to change the bulbs in my Nova Extreme. This is what I plan to do, we'll see if it works. My blue plus bulbs will stay on the actinic schedule 12 hours a day. I will not change that schedule. My daylights will be starting off on 3 hours a day and I will add one hour everyday until I get to a 9-10 hours per day. I am placing a blue plus every other bulb. I have a 12 bulb system so every other bulb (or so) will be a blue plus. The other bulbs I am using are Actininc whites and Aqua blues (2 each). Thanks to Grim I am sure this combo will look fantastic. Hopefully that helps you. So depending on what bulb goes on what timer will depend on the order of your bulbs.