Thoughts on thunderstorm mode on lights

Brett Stricker · Nov 15, 2019

What are y’all thoughts on having thunderstorm on a reef? Any benefits or just for looks?

Crabs McJones · Nov 15, 2019

Personally I think it's just for effect. I never use it. It can spook fish and cause them to jump. My hydra 26 lost connection one night and started flashing and spooked my wrasse and it jumped out.

VKP01 · Nov 15, 2019

IMO just adds unnecessary stress on fish

motortrendz · Nov 15, 2019

I never use it... tried it once and had my fish jumping like there was a shark in the tank. Never again

Mastiffsrule · Nov 15, 2019

Hate it. I alway think it will blow out the lamp

Gareth elliott · Nov 15, 2019

Also never use, both my reef and planted have this option. Current lights if use their bluetooth controller even add sound effects lol(i have their pumps, not the lights so use if showing off my tank so it has a soundtrack lol)
But i have never had cardinal tetras jump unless this somehow mistakenly gets turned on on my finex lights lol

Peace River · Nov 15, 2019

Crabs McJones said:
Personally I think it's just for effect. I never use it. It can spook fish and cause them to jump. My hydra 26 lost connection one night and started flashing and spooked my wrasse and it jumped out.

+1

At one point, I experimented with it to see if it had any positive impact as a trigger for breeding. Even with fish that are affected by storms, there seems to be a much stronger correlation to barometric pressure than to flashing lights (unless high stress would somehow be a trigger).

Gareth elliott · Nov 15, 2019

Peace River said:
+1

At one point, I experimented with it to see if it had any positive impact as a trigger for breeding. Even with fish that are affected by storms, there seems to be a much stronger correlation to barometric pressure than to flashing lights (unless high stress would somehow be a trigger).

I wonder if this was originally thought of for breeding some fw fish? To get some of my fish to breed i need to replicate the rainy season. Large water change with slightly softer and cooler water. Maybe someone was like, hey maybe lightening also gets them in the mood?

Peace River · Nov 15, 2019

Gareth elliott said:
I wonder if this was originally thought of for breeding some fw fish? To get some of my fish to breed i need to replicate the rainy season. Large water change with slightly softer and cooler water. Maybe someone was like, hey maybe lightening also gets them in the mood?

I wish you were right. Unfortunately I doubt if they thought about the fish at all and only focused on the marketing implications for "viewer experience".

You are definitely correct about the wide variety of breeding triggers in FW including temperature, TDS, water clarity, water level, and much more.

Gari · Nov 15, 2019

Fish doesn’t like it. Stress them out.

mtfish · Nov 15, 2019

Just a gimmick to sell lights. I can see it in my mind. "Programmer -- Hey, I can make these lights flash really quick. That sounds so cool. Wonder how many more people we can get to buy this if we add this stupid feature". Actually, I do not have any light set-ups that have this feature so I really don't know what I am talking about!

Scdell · Nov 15, 2019

I use it all the time. The fish react as they would in nature. No jumping. No real stress. It happens in nature. I like to replicate nature as much as I can. And I like the effect.

Scorpius · Nov 15, 2019

Our aquariums are a far cry from the ocean. I find these options silly, but harmless. I treat my led light schedule like I did with my T5's. Set it where it needs to be then LEAVE IT ALL ALONE. NO MORE BUTTON SETTING TOUCHY. lol.