Lighting profiles

[seangee]

Today I will receive 2 Nicrew controllers for the tanks that don't already have them. This time I shelled out the extra £1 for the programmable ones. The 2 I have are simple on/off with a pre-programmed ramp up / down time (and of course a dimmer so that I can control the intensity during the main lighting period).

I am really happy with the basic versions but got the pro for 2 reasons

1. I would like to increase my viewing time (including low light so I can see the nocturnal fish )
2. 12 hours daylight is what most tropical fish would experience in nature.

I plan to start on the community tank because this is the simplest and most stable (and its in the living room ). Currenly I run the lights at 100% for 7 hours. Ramp up is afternoon daylight through the patio doors and ramp down is 20 minutes of a blue "moonlight" + room lights. Plants grow well and I have no visible algae. I recently turned it down from 9 hours to 7 hours when I cleared 80% of my frogbit - but that has grown back now so I can up it again. Plants are all low / medium in requirements. I plan to lose the blue moonlight altogether.

I don't want to mess with the spectrum as that sounds like a lot of effort and could lead to problems, and I don't have posh lights - just white LEDs.

Any suggestions (based on experience) as to how I should phase the lighting to achieve a 12 hour day/night cycle without disturbing the balance?

 

[mbsqw1d]

Today I will receive 2 Nicrew controllers for the tanks that don't already have them. This time I shelled out the extra £1 for the programmable ones. The 2 I have are simple on/off with a pre-programmed ramp up / down time (and of course a dimmer so that I can control the intensity during the main lighting period).

I am really happy with the basic versions but got the pro for 2 reasons

1. I would like to increase my viewing time (including low light so I can see the nocturnal fish )
2. 12 hours daylight is what most tropical fish would experience in nature.

I plan to start on the community tank because this is the simplest and most stable (and its in the living room ). Currenly I run the lights at 100% for 7 hours. Ramp up is afternoon daylight through the patio doors and ramp down is 20 minutes of a blue "moonlight" + room lights. Plants grow well and I have no visible algae. I recently turned it down from 9 hours to 7 hours when I cleared 80% of my frogbit - but that has grown back now so I can up it again. Plants are all low / medium in requirements. I plan to lose the blue moonlight altogether.

I don't want to mess with the spectrum as that sounds like a lot of effort and could lead to problems, and I don't have posh lights - just white LEDs.

Any suggestions (based on experience) as to how I should phase the lighting to achieve a 12 hour day/night cycle without disturbing the balance?

Does this controller have 1 x time for on and off per channel per day?

 

[seangee]

Does this controller have 1 x time for on and off per channel per day?

The basic one does.
The pro that I have coming today has 6 blocks per day, allowing you to set on, off and intensity (as a percentage) for each block. This is also single channel. The 2 channel version only does a single on/off time per day. I could not find any in the UK so I just went for single channel and I am happy to lose the blue moonlight phase because I am not sure it adds any benefit.

I thought of something like:
1/2 hour at 10%
2 hour at 40%
7 hours at 100%
2 hours at 40%
1/2 hour at 10%

*** I just made those up

 

[mbsqw1d]

The basic one does.
The pro that I have coming today has 6 blocks per day, allowing you to set on, off and intensity (as a percentage) for each block. This is also single channel. The 2 channel version only does a single on/off time per day. I could not find any in the UK so I just went for single channel and I am happy to lose the blue moonlight phase because I am not sure it adds any benefit.

I thought of something like:
1/2 hour at 10%
2 hour at 40%
7 hours at 100%
2 hours at 40%
1/2 hour at 10%

*** I just made those up

I assume you'd be able to setup the blue channel independently, on your existing timer? Although this would mean having two dc power supplies plugged in. But if you're happy to completely do without the blue, then your example looks reasonable. Does it perform a 15 minute slope between the 6 'blocks'?

 

[seangee]

I assume you'd be able to setup the blue channel independently, on your existing timer? Although this would mean having two dc power supplies plugged in. But if you're happy to completely do without the blue, then your example looks reasonable. Does it perform a 15 minute slope between the 6 'blocks'?

I'll have to get back to you on that. The instructions were simple enough and I have the community tank up and running. I did make up a different set of numbers . I suspect the answer is no but one of the graphics suggests it might be maybe.

In reality its only 5 blocks because you have to use one block for 0% (off). You don't have to use all the blocks.
The Nicrew light does actually come with and inline splitter from the PS so in theory ...
Don't think I'll bother though.

Edit: The good thing is that, unlike the tank's built in timer, it retains its programme if the power goes off. You do have to reset the clock but that's a lot easier than doing everything again.

 

[seangee]

Does it perform a 15 minute slope between the 6 'blocks'?

Now I can answer. Yes it does. When it dropped from 100% to 60% I couldn't see it changing noticeably. Interestingly the otos could. They started coming out before I had noticed that the lights were dimming.

The 15 / 30 minute ramp downs aren't neccessarily that time. Mine is set to 30 mins. In the tank where I just set an on/off time it only took 15 minutes to go dark. That's because it drops by a fixed amount (not percentage) every few minutes. This tank is at 45% in on mode so that makes sense as its starting halfway through the cycle.

FWIW it has just hit 10% in the community tank. IMO it really looks a lot better than the blue light and I can see the fish much better. It looks quite dramatic with the blackwater and all the otos are out and about now.

 

[Naughts]

Photo?

 

[mbsqw1d]

What's your take on the siesta approach? Surely thats asking for algae problems?

 

[seangee]

I would not in a tank with fish (the sun doesn't have a siesta )
The technique is mostly used in high tech setups with CO2 injection, high lights and high ferts

 

[seangee]

Photo?

Hard to capture on the phone because that tries to correct the exposure. The room is actually darker than it appears because the blinds are drawn to try to keep the temp down. At 14:00 it switches from 10-40% so my guess is this is somewhere between 20 and 25% intensity.

Sorry about the floating hygrophila, Billy the bulldozer bristlenose is clearing a pathway down the left side of the tank

 

[Naughts]

Yes, very atmospheric and the fish really stand out

 

[Retired Viking]

Love the hygrophila, I see you added those aerators, I really like mine. I added a valve to the line so I could reduce them a little because they really put out the bubbles. You cardinal tetras look great, they have good color. Where is your water hardness at in PPM?

 

[seangee]

Where is your water hardness at in PPM?

0 - its straight RO

 

[seangee]

Just been down for a tank inspection and so far so good. No signs of algae in either tank and plant growth seems about normal. The community tank has gone from 7-12 hours (but only 7 at 100%). I have actually upped the intensity in the new tank and the cyano is now actively dying. When I did the vacuum on the weekend I left some on a piece of wood. That has actually reduced in size by over 50%.

I'm loving being able to watch the otos in the evenings with the lights on. I'd forgotten just how active they are.

 

[Retired Viking]

0 - its straight RO

Do you adding anything to the water? I have been adding about a gallon of treated tap water to 5 gallons of RO and keeping my ppm at 50.