SPS reefs: when do you run your supplemental lighting?

spspirate · Sep 8, 2014

Something I've been thinking about lately with my new build. When should I run my supplemental lighting? Usually I run them ( at the time of my last reef T-5's) one hour before halides come on and they would go off one hour afterwards, so a photoperiod of ten hours. I run Radiums and will continue in the next build. I'm going to try running LED's (blue) for my supplemental light but this time I'm going to run them for four hours, one hour before halides an a hour after they come on and one hour before they go off and a hour after they go off.

Daniel@R2R · Sep 8, 2014

BUMP for the lunch crew!

jackson6745 · Sep 8, 2014

I run blue reefbrites and t5's along with a 400w radium. I feel that the t5 helps eliminate any shadows from the halides and improve growth. The blue LED's just look cool when added to the spectrum

so I leave them on.

Rob&Gab · Sep 8, 2014

jackson6745 said:
I run blue reefbrites and t5's along with a 400w radium. I feel that the t5 helps eliminate any shadows from the halides and improve growth. The blue LED's just look cool when added to the spectrum so I leave them on.

Yes yea yea yea .! You know those LEDs are helping with color

don't lie lol

hehehhehh

Acro · Sep 8, 2014

I run 2 t5s for 3 hours at my highest point in my radion graph.

spspirate · Sep 8, 2014

jackson6745 said:
I run blue reefbrites and t5's along with a 400w radium. I feel that the t5 helps eliminate any shadows from the halides and improve growth. The blue LED's just look cool when added to the spectrum so I leave them on.

Yea those T-5's do a good job blending in the halide. Got to have those Blue LED's for the "pop".

HAudioSolutions · Sep 8, 2014

Great! I started with standard output fluorescent lighting then upgraded to VHO... Ran that for years successfully. Moved to MH with t5 and was happy except for the heat and bulb replacement cost. Few years later I moved on to all LED fixtures (for a 180g) and since (recently realized I kinda miss some t5) Bought a four bulb t5 fixture (72") Don't really like the bulb combo that came with it and while shopping for a new bulb combo, I discover one of my LED fixtures is starting to act strange after 2.5 years. Order three new LED fixtures since I figure the other two aren't far behind AND now it seems I need to order supplemental MH for everything just purchased.. expensive full circle. Just waiting on VHO (WHICH without a doubt offered the BEST actenic bulb to date!) to become the new cool retro best thing. Waiting on the new SVHO T5 with MH supplementation and strategic LED panels for color POP for $3500. exhausted... I wanna start a tread that shows coral growth and color with candles and super reflectors.

hllywd · Sep 9, 2014

I just set up my 2 - 80W ATI Coral Plus T5s to come on for about 4 hours in the middle of my 14 hour 3x Kessil A360W program. I bring the Kessils from all blue at the bottom end of the intensity scale, then bring them up to as white as they'll go at about 80% intensity for similar time as the T5s. T5s go off and the Kessils dim all the way down shifting to all blue as they go. Going to see how that works, and maybe compress the front of the schedule a bit,and raise the intensity when I know how everything reacts. So far the effect is great.