Has anyone tried this lighting method??

mx270 · 12/02/2008, 11:50 AM

I just purchased three sundial pendents for my 125g tank. Each unit has a 150W 10k metal halide and two 32w attinic CFs. (214W each, 642W total) I was planning on setting the timers to have the lights 'roll over the tank' to simulate the sun.

Each unit has two timers included. I thought I would have the left light attinics come on at 8am, the middle attinics at 9am, and the right side at 10 am. Then the MH would come on left to right at 11am, 12 am, and 1pm.

I would begin the MH shutdown at 5pm, 6pm and 7pm from left to right. Then the attinics from left to right at 8pm, 9pm, and 10pm.
I have no LEDs at the moment for night lighting.

Each light would be on 12 hours for the attinics and 6 hours for the MH. The total light cycle period will take 14 hours for the attinics and 8 hours for the MH. All the lamps will be on for 4 hours (1 pm to 5 pm).

Has anyone tried this lighting method??
Any recommendations to the plan??

My lights will not arrive until later this week and my tank is still in cycle mode.

Here is the watts on the tank for each hour during the day. The watts will 'roll' the tank from left to right.

8am 64w
9am 128w
10am 192w
11am 342w (10k MH starts)
12am 492w
1 -4 pm 642w (full power)
5pm 492w
6pm 342w
7pm 192w (all MH off)
8pm 128w
9pm 64w
10pm lights out!!

mx270 · 12/03/2008, 04:40 PM

bump.... anyone???

tufacody · 12/03/2008, 04:58 PM

I think people make way too big a deal out of sunrise-sunset options. I do like the autodimming on my Solaris, but frankly I don't think it affects the corals at all. I think autodimming works on something like the solaris or dimmable ballasts, but I think the way you propose it just results in a goofy looking tank for 6 hours of the day.

mx270 · 12/04/2008, 06:47 AM

Tufacody, thanks for the response. Good point on the goofy tank look. At least the tank would look good the rest of the day, where I look goofy ALL day!!! I have spent way to much time thinking about the lights. I will be glad when they get here so I can quit thinking about having them. I did not buy the three lamps for this reason. It was more a side thought while I'm waiting to get them.

The reason I bought three different lights is that I felt it was more practical to have three 18in lamps than one six foot one. If I change my mind on lighting in the future, these lamps would break down to my smaller tanks (two on my 75 and one on the 37g). Or if one fails I do not "have to fix" a thousand dollar light strip. This means I did not buy my aquarium lighting a wedding ring!!! I spent $230 a piece at marine depot.

Thanks again for your view tufacody.
Let's here some more comments reefers.

EnderG60 · 12/04/2008, 07:01 AM

having seperate lights and being able to stagger the on off times is nice, and it can be used to lower your power bill a bit, but other then that it really has no affect of the life in the tank.

redfishsc · 12/04/2008, 09:09 AM

Before you write it off as "goofy" be sure to at least give it a try. Maybe don't spend all the money on all the timers, but just take one of your days off to just flick them on one by one, let each MH warm up and see how it works.

Personally for nice lighting effects, I don't think anything looks nicer and more natural than having a big powerhead at the surface roiling the water around to make the MH shimmer very pronounced. Now THAT looks awesome.

mx270 · 12/04/2008, 11:25 AM

redfishsc, the lamps each contain two timers built into the units, so I already have the parts needed to make it work. It's just whether to have them come on at the same time or stagger them. I could make the cycle happen faster by setting the timers right (say 30min apart instead of 1 hr)

I currently use 4 maxijets on a wavemaster pro. They are not that powerful, but I had to cut some costs to get the 125g going. (since I already had the equipment from my 75g). They don't move the surface that much because I have them deeper in the tank to pull up lower water. I would like a couple tunze in the future.

12/02/2008, 11:50 AM	#1
mx270 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: ohio Posts: 80	Has anyone tried this lighting method?? I just purchased three sundial pendents for my 125g tank. Each unit has a 150W 10k metal halide and two 32w attinic CFs. (214W each, 642W total) I was planning on setting the timers to have the lights 'roll over the tank' to simulate the sun. Each unit has two timers included. I thought I would have the left light attinics come on at 8am, the middle attinics at 9am, and the right side at 10 am. Then the MH would come on left to right at 11am, 12 am, and 1pm. I would begin the MH shutdown at 5pm, 6pm and 7pm from left to right. Then the attinics from left to right at 8pm, 9pm, and 10pm. I have no LEDs at the moment for night lighting. Each light would be on 12 hours for the attinics and 6 hours for the MH. The total light cycle period will take 14 hours for the attinics and 8 hours for the MH. All the lamps will be on for 4 hours (1 pm to 5 pm). Has anyone tried this lighting method?? Any recommendations to the plan?? My lights will not arrive until later this week and my tank is still in cycle mode. Here is the watts on the tank for each hour during the day. The watts will 'roll' the tank from left to right. 8am 64w 9am 128w 10am 192w 11am 342w (10k MH starts) 12am 492w 1 -4 pm 642w (full power) 5pm 492w 6pm 342w 7pm 192w (all MH off) 8pm 128w 9pm 64w 10pm lights out!!

12/03/2008, 04:40 PM	#2
mx270 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: ohio Posts: 80	bump.... anyone??? __________________ Today is the first day of the rest of your life! Current Tank Info: 125g reef

12/04/2008, 06:47 AM	#4
mx270 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: ohio Posts: 80	Tufacody, thanks for the response. Good point on the goofy tank look. At least the tank would look good the rest of the day, where I look goofy ALL day!!! I have spent way to much time thinking about the lights. I will be glad when they get here so I can quit thinking about having them. I did not buy the three lamps for this reason. It was more a side thought while I'm waiting to get them. The reason I bought three different lights is that I felt it was more practical to have three 18in lamps than one six foot one. If I change my mind on lighting in the future, these lamps would break down to my smaller tanks (two on my 75 and one on the 37g). Or if one fails I do not "have to fix" a thousand dollar light strip. This means I did not buy my aquarium lighting a wedding ring!!! I spent $230 a piece at marine depot. Thanks again for your view tufacody. Let's here some more comments reefers. __________________ Today is the first day of the rest of your life! Current Tank Info: 125g reef

12/04/2008, 09:09 AM	#6
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	Before you write it off as "goofy" be sure to at least give it a try. Maybe don't spend all the money on all the timers, but just take one of your days off to just flick them on one by one, let each MH warm up and see how it works. Personally for nice lighting effects, I don't think anything looks nicer and more natural than having a big powerhead at the surface roiling the water around to make the MH shimmer very pronounced. Now THAT looks awesome. __________________ "The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins” -- Søren Kierkegaard Current Tank Info: ghetto grad school reef.....11g rimless tank, 36X9X9, lit by Cree and Rebels scobbled together. Stocked mostly with free stuff I got from panhandling my fellow reefers.

12/04/2008, 11:25 AM	#7
mx270 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: ohio Posts: 80	redfishsc, the lamps each contain two timers built into the units, so I already have the parts needed to make it work. It's just whether to have them come on at the same time or stagger them. I could make the cycle happen faster by setting the timers right (say 30min apart instead of 1 hr) I currently use 4 maxijets on a wavemaster pro. They are not that powerful, but I had to cut some costs to get the 125g going. (since I already had the equipment from my 75g). They don't move the surface that much because I have them deeper in the tank to pull up lower water. I would like a couple tunze in the future. __________________ Today is the first day of the rest of your life! Current Tank Info: 125g reef

12/03/2008, 04:58 PM	#3
tufacody Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,890	I think people make way too big a deal out of sunrise-sunset options. I do like the autodimming on my Solaris, but frankly I don't think it affects the corals at all. I think autodimming works on something like the solaris or dimmable ballasts, but I think the way you propose it just results in a goofy looking tank for 6 hours of the day.

12/04/2008, 07:01 AM	#5
EnderG60 Plumbing Engineer Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 3,260	having seperate lights and being able to stagger the on off times is nice, and it can be used to lower your power bill a bit, but other then that it really has no affect of the life in the tank.