how many hours of all dark?

aprime11b

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 21, 2011
316
1
0
Oregon to Florida
Is there a requirement for how many hours a tank needs of mostly dark? I have my timer set from 11am to 10:30pm, so 11.5 hours. My only concern is from about 7am when the sun comes up until the display turns on, it is receiving 4 hours of natural light before my 11.5 hours of aritifical. So is 15.5 hours of total light per day to much? Does the tank need more than 8 hours of dark or is this ok? I know about replicating natural light so I would assume 12/12 but I know most parts of ocean is more 14/10. Any input would be appreciated.
 

Jrob

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 7, 2011
709
1
33
32
Michigan
i only give my tank 8-10 hours of light per day... i don't have timers...i'm old fashioned, i push the power switch...lol

it just depends on how much sun is actually getting into the tank..and at what intensity..
also what are your lights... provide a link if possible not familiar with all of the lighting out there... but most people have decent lights with lunar/actinics/t5ho or mh.... so normally run your actinics an hour or two before your t5's come on...to represent sun up.. let them run for about 9-11 hours...then turn off the t5's and let the actinics run another hour before your lights are off completely then the lunar lights come on... or moonlight... what have you.... that's at least how i was told to do it..and it's not been a big issue for myself.. i'm sure others will have better input...otherone will know for sure
 

Miguel

Ole Dawg
MFK Member
Dec 28, 2006
15,857
27
89
Very much south..
I strive for 12/12 periods.
 

aprime11b

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 21, 2011
316
1
0
Oregon to Florida
Thanks for the replies. I like the timers as they make it convient especially when im busy or on a weird schedule or gone for an extended amount of time. I have ati 60" t5 10 bulb power module. You can try Googling it.

I dont think the sun in am from 7-11am is intense but definitely not dark.

I may change my time to start a hour or so earlier and turning off a hour earlier to give another hour or 2 of dark. Sounds like 8 hours is on low side.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

Otherone

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 2, 2009
2,683
4
0
Lancaster,PA USA
I would suggest 8 hours of light for tanks less than 1 year old. It can take a couple of years for denitrifying colonies to mature enuff to make a big impact on water quality. After the 1st year you can start to slowly extend it to 12 and 12. This will limit the amounts of cyanobacteria you'd have to contend with while the tank is maturing.

As for Natural sunlight - the UVA + UVB radiation photosynthetic animals use to coexisit with zoothanthalle algae does not penetrate window pain glass period, it's a non-issue. But the sun is not limited to just UV A+B enuff light gets thru to allow for ionization stabilizing PH. My schedule Lights off 6AM to 6PM.
 

Otherone

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 2, 2009
2,683
4
0
Lancaster,PA USA
well my work schedule is during the day - if you work at nite there's no point - nobody wants to look at a sleeping reef. use the schedule that is best for your enjoyment.
 

aprime11b

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 21, 2011
316
1
0
Oregon to Florida
I suppose that works if your house stays dark enough to keep the cycle if not then it seems like almost 24 hours of light.

I adjusted my timer 30 minutes earlier so now its on 10.5 hours.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

cichlid_king

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 14, 2011
916
1
0
35
Fond du lac, Wisconsin
I suppose that works if your house stays dark enough to keep the cycle if not then it seems like almost 24 hours of light.

I adjusted my timer 30 minutes earlier so now its on 10.5 hours.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
You might start to have problems with algae with a photoperiod that long. Personally i dont think tanks should be lit longer than 8 hours.

Sent from my HTC Hero S using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store