T5 - Users Input - Full Daylight Hours for Coral Health

[GoVols]

First off thanks for your input!

So, How many hours a day do you run your T5's at "Full Daylight" for proper long term coral growth and health.

Please list your tank size, fixture and bulb count.
Also, Mixed Reef, SPS, LPS etc...

How many hours have you found to be too short?
How many hours have you found to be too long?
How many hours have you found to be your sweet spot?

Again, Thanks for your feedback

 

[pdt7361]

I have my blue channel (2 ATI Blue+ bulbs) come on at 11a and go off at 8p. My white channel (1 Coral+ and 1 Aqua Blue Special) comes on at 1pm and goes off at 7pm.
Other than those, I also have an LED strip that ramps up at 10a and ramps down at 9p.
This is all over my standard 4ft, 90g.

 

[GoVols]

I have my blue channel (2 ATI Blue+ bulbs) come on at 11a and go off at 8p. My white channel (1 Coral+ and 1 Aqua Blue Special) comes on at 1pm and goes off at 7pm.
Other than those, I also have an LED strip that ramps up at 10a and ramps down at 9p.
This is all over my standard 4ft, 90g.

So you are running 4 t5's with an led strip that are all on for 6 hours of Full Daylight over a 4ft 90.
Also from start to finish you running an 11 hour daily light cycle.
Is that correct?

 

[LostInTheDark]

I have a DYI led strip light come on at 930am Then full 8x80 come on at 1030 and off at 8pm. Strip light goes off at 9. This is over a 225 mixed reef.

 

[Fish4udog]

ATI 6x54 75 gal mixed reef 2 blue+ 12 pm-10pm then 2 blue+ 1 coral+ 1 purple + 1pm-9pm

 

[mcarroll]

If you mean something close to direct sunlight intensity (e.g. 2000 PAR or 100,000 lux) then about 5 hours a day will do it in terms of matching the energy output of a "normal day".

If you're about half that intensity like most of the "bright" commercial fixtures (1000 PAR or 50,000 lux), then about double the time.

Whether corals need that much is more of an open question which should be the subject of some experimentation.

My 10,000-14,000 lux tank gets about 8 hours and seems to do well.

 

[dragon99]

Interested what others have been running long term.

I'm running 3 B+, 1 C+ for 8.5 hrs as my "daylight" (4x54W)
Running 30min dusk/dawn of 1B+/Actinic (have 1min of overlap just so they aren't switching on/off at the same time)