Lighting - Whites?

Cymonous · 02/01/2013, 05:50 PM

Is it true you shouldn't run your whites all day? If so, how long should I? I currently run my lights from 1pm to 9pm and turn on my moons for an hour or so till I go to bed.

ImNotLion · 02/01/2013, 05:57 PM

I ran my moon light LEDs all night. I would say your cycle is fine, if you start trouble with algae or whatnot you could cut down on the length of time

thegrun · 02/01/2013, 08:05 PM

For coral the optimum daylight (main lights) photoperiod is 7-8 hours. Anything more or less reduces coral growth and can affect color. Fish are of course more forgiving but in general I would not recommend having the main lights on for more than 10 hours maximum. Actinic lighting is usually turned on an hour or two before the main daylights come on and run through the day turning off an hour or two after the daylights turn off. Moonlights are primarily for your visual enjoyment (they can be used to get certain corals and fish to spawn) and you can set them to your own personal viewing schedule.

02/01/2013, 05:50 PM	#1
Cymonous My Clown Attacks Me Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Akron, OH Posts: 2,105	Lighting - Whites? Is it true you shouldn't run your whites all day? If so, how long should I? I currently run my lights from 1pm to 9pm and turn on my moons for an hour or so till I go to bed. __________________ 100 Gallon Long with 20L sump 10 Gallon Office Tank Current Tank Info: 2 False Percula Clowns, One Spot Foxface, Diamond Watchman Goby, Yellow Tail Damsel, Engineer Goby

02/01/2013, 05:57 PM	#2
ImNotLion Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 88	I ran my moon light LEDs all night. I would say your cycle is fine, if you start trouble with algae or whatnot you could cut down on the length of time

02/01/2013, 08:05 PM	#3
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	For coral the optimum daylight (main lights) photoperiod is 7-8 hours. Anything more or less reduces coral growth and can affect color. Fish are of course more forgiving but in general I would not recommend having the main lights on for more than 10 hours maximum. Actinic lighting is usually turned on an hour or two before the main daylights come on and run through the day turning off an hour or two after the daylights turn off. Moonlights are primarily for your visual enjoyment (they can be used to get certain corals and fish to spawn) and you can set them to your own personal viewing schedule.