Timing of lights

In the process of setting up my first tank, it's 55 gallons. I bought it used with these type of lights- 48" Retrofit: 4-54W T5 HO Fluorescents (1 Sun-6000K, 1 Aquablue- (11000K) and 2 Actinic/Blue Plus.

A couple of questions:
How should these lights be rotated on a daily basis, i.e. length of time, etc?

As far as timers go, does anyone have any experience with this surge/timer? Ihttp://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=SE1171

With these type of lights, what are my limits as far as corals, anenomes, etc?
I think they can handle a good majority of things, is this right?

Thanks a lot!

 

Yes, the t5 HO's put out a good amount of light!! You will have more options with them than with regular fluorescents or pc's.
Read this -- http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-lighting/lighting-schedule-35610.html


Jim

 

Well for me i have 4x 65w pc lights...because i stay up pretty late...12ish :S school lol...i just changed my lighting scedule....depending on how mature ur tank is depends on the time the light can be on...my tank is almost 3 year and i have my actinics on from 10am-10pm and my days from 11am-9pm...i have used that surge/time at the school...and ....well i dont like it http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9868&ref=3532&subref=AY&N=2004 113351 these are my favorite...just the nice simple turny timers work great for me

 

O also...for the corals...all soft corals will be fine...i would be careful about the sps...lps is prolly fine...but maybe stick to montis rather than acros....also...clams i would be careful about...maybe go with a deresa and put it near the top if u need 2 like me

 

One of the problems regarding lighting is that alot of corals can survive with ("subdued" lighting. The thing is that alot of the vibrant yellows, blues, reds etc. will fade without intense lighting. For example I have some Montipora Digitata(green), however, in my 75gal tank with pc's(roughly 500watts), i'm not getting the brilliant green polyps associated with this coral. Mine is a brownish color with a green tint. Don't get me wrong! The coral is growing fast and spreading through fragmentation, however the true color won't come out. The same strain of Digitata in my small tank(30gal.) under 175wattMH and 2pc's shows the green polyps on it.

 

yes...i will agree with that...although most corals can survive without the mh lighting...they will look better under it...UGH....im still deciding whether or not to buy mhs for my tank :X

 

These timers appear to be pretty generic timers like I could buy @ Lowe's, is that right? So you just plug these right into a surge protector?

If my RO/DI unit arrives in the mail today I will be setting up my tank this weekend. I'm stoked! Now all I need is for UPS to hurry up!

 

Yes, I bought mine from home depot. They work great.
Make sure you buy the one with the ground plug on it. They still make some without it.

Jim

 

I guess I still need some help regarding the rotation of these type of lights. My tank has been running almost a week now and I put 50 lbs of fully cured LR (straight from someone elses tank) in 2 days ago. He told me to go with zero light for the first few days but then to slowly increase the lights over the next week or so to acclimate the LR. The rock was under Metal Halides.
Should these lights be on at seperate times, the same time or what and once I get up and running what should the duration of each be?

 

I run my 2-65w actinic lights from about 8am to 11pm, and my 10k bulbs from 10am to 8pm, and i used those little pinset timers with grounds. I decided to try to simulate a little cloudcover action by having the 10k's turn off for 30 mins at a time a few times during the day.

So far everything is going great!