Lighting Length

The Freak · 05-03-2006, 04:07 PM

Hi all I tried to do a search but didnt find exactly what I was looking for. I dont have too much in my tank right now but a richordia and some cotton candy but I was wondering how long I should be running my lights. I have 2 - 250w MH and 2 - 48" atinics. How long do I cycle each one on and do I run them both for a period and then just one or the other?

Thanks

mtfatwork · 05-03-2006, 04:12 PM

up to you wheather you run them both over the same period of time or not. I would do 12hrs with the actinics, and during the day a total of 4-6 hours of mh. You could stagger them, Like have the 1st mh turn on at 10 am, second at 12 pm, turn 1st off at 2pm, and 2nd off at 4:00pm, all the while having the actinic lighting on.. just an example though.

David Grigor · 05-03-2006, 04:13 PM

Really there is no magic formula and is all up to you and how your corals react.

Turning both MH on at the same time may depend on the amount of amp draw and how many or what size electric circuits they are on. Some ballast draw high amps at startup but calm back down after a few minutes. Turning both on may trip the circuit.

You may want to turn one MH on at a time to increase the overall length of the light schedule while not adding too much heat at once with some overlap with both on at the same time.

Typically, people turn the actinics on about an hour before an after the Mh but again you can really do however it works for you an nothing says that interval can't be longer or shorter.

The length of time for MH is also variable. Overall heat may be a concern and would use less time as a result to keep from overheating. Amount of time your MH can range anywhere from 4-6 hours up to 10-12 hours. Main thing is to watch your corals and how they react. In general the lower the wattage of MH usually compensate by increasing the length of time but again nothing set in stone.