photo periods

lorenz0 · #1 03-06-2009, 06:01 AM

came across this thread tonight and found it extremely interesting. I am going to change my lighting to shorter periods with my growing bulbs while staying the same with my supplimentals.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...5&pagenumber=1

Trigger Man · #2 03-06-2009, 06:12 AM

And here I just rose my lighting period from 9 to 10 hours after seeing Lobsterboys tank and hearing how long others keep their lights on. Right now I've noticed more growth, so maybe the lighting period has to be varied here and there, just like how it happens in nature with seasons.

lorenz0 · #3 03-06-2009, 06:21 AM

From what i have noticed in my tank I actually had to bring my schedual down once from 10-9 hours and i have noticed improvement. Today i was thinking how my T5's are producing to much light and in some cases I have also noticed that even milli's in the higher points in my tank are losing color and a stylo on the sand is losing it's base color. My acro's are doing decent but have become a bit dull so right now i am going to give this a shot. i will be updating my build thread so i will have before and after shots.

GreenSpottedPuffer · #4 03-06-2009, 06:32 AM

I brought mine down from 10 hours to 6 hours a few months back. I have seen nothing but great results. Pretty much exactly what people have been saying in that thread--better polyp extension, better color, better growth.

It makes sense too...If you go a bit further than that thread and do some reading (search on google scholar about Photoinhibition in corals) you will find its not completely clear yet but most scientists are leaning towards excessive amounts of light actually "exhausting" corals and slowing growth down.

hockey nut · #5 03-06-2009, 07:38 AM

7 hours for my tank. Good growth and nice colours. So far so good.

GreenSpottedPuffer · #6 03-06-2009, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hockey nut

7 hours for my tank. Good growth and nice colours. So far so good.

How long have you been at 7 hours?

Aquattro · #7 03-06-2009, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trigger Man

, so maybe the lighting period has to be varied here and there, just like how it happens in nature with seasons.

The photoperiod over the areas corals come from really doesn't change at all over the year. It gets dark in Bali around 6ish every day.

Oscar · #8 03-07-2009, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trigger Man

so maybe the lighting period has to be varied here and there, just like how it happens in nature with seasons.

Yes, very interesting discussion. The photo period for corals, since most are found very close to the equator should be relatively constant through the year, not seasonal.

But...what will vary is intensity from day to day to account for cloud free, cloudy and rainy days.

Currently I have been running actinic 12 hours, hallide 10 hours, moonlights, 4 hours. Some of my corals seem to be losing a bit of colour.

So here is what I am thinking of shifting to in my photoperiod:

Actinincs: 9.5 hrs per day
Moons: 4 hrs per day
Hallide: Sat/Sun: 7.5 hrs
Monday: 5.5 hours
Tuesday: 3.5 hours
Wed: 0 hours
Thursday: 3.5 hours
Friday: 5.5 hours

The additional benefits are less chance for the tank to overheat, less evaporation and fewer algae issues.

Thoughts?

Myka · #9 03-07-2009, 03:34 PM

LOL Doug!!!

Oscar, that's a whole lotta pain in the butt, but if you have the time for it, or some sort of controller that will do that for you, I would be interested to see the results. However, I doubt it would make any more difference than just lowering the photo period to a steady number.

Oscar · #10 03-07-2009, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myka

LOL Doug!!!

However, I doubt it would make any more difference than just lowering the photo period to a steady number.

We'll see. If it reduces the algae situation, and the amount of evaporation then that is worth the time.