Night lighting

[dantdodge]

Do any of you run night lights "moon light" all night? Or do you give them total darkness come night time or leave moon lights on for a couple hours then lights off?

Has any seen signs of stress keeping moon lights on for an extended period?

Just curious with the ne led units you have now a days? Curious to hear everyone's thoughts or experiences longer term. Thanks!

 

[Jedi1199]

Not sure if this counts. I have a mixed reef, not ponies or pipes. I run my lights on moonlight setting for 3 hours per night. Doesn't seem to harm anything that I have noticed. Fish find ther sleeping spots and stay there lights on or off.

I strongly suspect that night light is more for us than the tanks.

 

[dantdodge]

Not sure if this counts. I have a mixed reef, not ponies or pipes. I run my lights on moonlight setting for 3 hours per night. Doesn't seem to harm anything that I have noticed. Fish find ther sleeping spots and stay there lights on or off.

I strongly suspect that night light is more for us than the tanks.

Agreed I have a reef tank as well and fish can hide and find their sleeping spots. And block most ambient light while they snooze. I dont notice any affects for fishes.

But seahorses naturally don't go underneath a rock and sleep. So curious if extended or long term moon light maybe a stressor if moon lightswere were on through out the night or if total darkness is better less stressful or do they even care.

 

[MaxTremors]

Do any of you run night lights "moon light" all night? Or do you give them total darkness come night time or leave moon lights on for a couple hours then lights off?

Has any seen signs of stress keeping moon lights on for an extended period?

Just curious with the ne led units you have now a days? Curious to hear everyone's thoughts or experiences longer term. Thanks!

I recommend against keeping moonlights on all night, IMO it stresses fish out and messes with their circadian rhythm. I don’t know if there’s any effect on corals. Personally, I don’t run any moonlights, never have, always give tanks 12 hours of total darkness. If you really want to run moonlights, I would run them for a couple hours and then turn them off.

 

[LeftyReefer]

Not sure if this counts. I have a mixed reef, not ponies or pipes. I run my lights on moonlight setting for 3 hours per night. Doesn't seem to harm anything that I have noticed. Fish find ther sleeping spots and stay there lights on or off.

I strongly suspect that night light is more for us than the tanks.

Same experience. I ran moonlighting for a while, and it didn't seem to affect anything... corals and fish all acted exactly the same when I ran the moonlights as they did when I just gave the tank total darkness at night. I don't think they care one way or the other, they will adapt.

 

[Dburr1014]

I just upgraded my Reefbreeders to pro and they use the light blue channel for moon lights. I programmed 0.07 light blue to run all night. Been a couple months and haven't noticed anything different. I run as dim as possible. The moon lights the reef so I don't see it as a problem as long as it's dim.

 

[Jedi1199]

Agreed I have a reef tank as well and fish can hide and find their sleeping spots. And block most ambient light while they snooze. I dont notice any affects for fishes.

But seahorses naturally don't go underneath a rock and sleep. So curious if extended or long term moon light maybe a stressor if moon lightswere were on through out the night or if total darkness is better less stressful or do they even care.

Ok, this is my opinion, not based on any firsthand experience, or anything I have read, simply my own personal opinion.

I don't think running a couple hours of moonlight will hurt anything. I personally would not go more than 3 hours (I run mine 3 hours after full off, 3 hours on moon, and then off again till morning)

I suggest experimenting a bit.. See what your stock likes. If moonlight is stressing them then obviously stop using it. I am curious to follow along with this as I am considering turning my 55 into a pony tank.

 

[dantdodge]

Yeah I have read much information that even during the day they prefer shady retreats, so my thought was moon light "all" night may be stressful. And a nice dark lights out may give them ample rest is my take.. would love to hear more from the pony pros

 

[EricR]

I don't run moonlight ever but thought that the idea was to simulate natural lunar cycle, meaning OFF for new moon, ON for full moon, and gradual ramp to/from in between,,, at least on the programmable LEDs.

 

[Jedi1199]

I don't run moonlight ever but thought that the idea was to simulate natural lunar cycle, meaning OFF for new moon, ON for full moon, and gradual ramp to/from in between,,, at least on the programmable LEDs.

My Kessils DO have a moonlight cycle setting. I actually have never tried to use it. I just run the blue only chanel at 1% for 3 hours as described above..

Might be fun to dive into the control app and figure out how to run the "Lunar Cycle" feature.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I don't run moonlight ever but thought that the idea was to simulate natural lunar cycle, meaning OFF for new moon, ON for full moon, and gradual ramp to/from in between,,, at least on the programmable LEDs.

^^^ THIS!

 

[EricR]

My Kessils DO have a moonlight cycle setting. I actually have never tried to use it. I just run the blue only chanel at 1% for 3 hours as described above..

Might be fun to dive into the control app and figure out how to run the "Lunar Cycle" feature.

I had the same fleeting thought -- might be fun to try, but never got motivated enough to play with it,,, plus probably doesn't really accomplish anything substantial for the well-being of the tank inhabitants.

 

[Jedi1199]

I had the same fleeting thought -- might be fun to try, but never got motivated enough to play with it,,, plus probably doesn't really accomplish anything substantial for the well-being of the tank inhabitants.

As I said above.. i honestly believe that "Lunar Lighting" is really more for us than for them.

I read a post a while back from an experienced diver who said that moonlight really only penetrates a few feet below the water surface. Below that point, it is virtual blackout.

The only reason I run the lights the way I do is because I get home from work during that low light cycle. This allows me to check on things without disturbing the tank.

 

[dantdodge]

I believe the lunar cycles would benefit in some regards but mostly for spawning corals or inhabitants that can feed the reef with live food. So I think it is worth diving into and trying out!

 

[Idech]

I like to give my fish darkness. I believe all animals benefit from it. I even feel guilty when there's too much light in the living room and they’re sleeping, lol !

 

[MaxTremors]

I believe the lunar cycles would benefit in some regards but mostly for spawning corals or inhabitants that can feed the reef with live food. So I think it is worth diving into and trying out!

Corals will still spawn without moonlights, they react to the gravitational pull of the moon, not the actual light from the moon.

 

[cww81]

I use them for 3 hours and it seems that my mandarin goby uses the dim light to venture out and hunt while the rest of the tank sleeps.

 

[dantdodge]

Corals will still spawn without moonlights, they react to the gravitational pull of the moon, not the actual light from the moon.

This maybe true but there is a lot of evidence around spawning events that are coordinated with lunar cycles. Here is an interesting study https://elifesciences.org/articles/09991
done using moon light. I don't thing moon light is the ultimate trigger but plays a big hand influencing corals among many other factors tides which you mention, Temperatures, lunar phase etc. I just don't think it should be ruled out as an influence trigger for your reef or pony tank.

 

[MaxTremors]

This maybe true but there is a lot of evidence around spawning events that are coordinated with lunar cycles. Here is an interesting study https://elifesciences.org/articles/09991
done using moon light. I don't thing moon light is the ultimate trigger but plays a big hand influencing corals among many other factors tides which you mention, Temperatures, lunar phase etc. I just don't think it should be ruled out as an influence trigger for your reef or pony tank.

That’s interesting. I did some more reading and found this study that showed that the darkness or absence of moonlight after a full moon, or the dark period after the sun sets and before the moon rises (the day after a full moon in the spring) is when or (part of) what triggers Dipsastrea speciosa to spawn. I thinks it’s probably a confluence of factors, but to suggest that basic moonlighting in aquariums is able to accurately mimic the phases of the moon (especially in conjunction with other factors at play) or that it’s needed is a stretch.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2101985118

 

[guily yalai]

Do any of you run night lights "moon light" all night? Or do you give them total darkness come night time or leave moon lights on for a couple hours then lights off?

Has any seen signs of stress keeping moon lights on for an extended period?

Just curious with the ne led units you have now a days? Curious to hear everyone's thoughts or experiences longer term. Thanks!

I programming my light to the 'moon light' mode after 10pm and it will shut off one hour later, so give the tank darkness when the light auto on at 6 am, my light is hygger red blue light and the most mode I use is the red blue lighting mode, this mode makes a fantasy underwater world.