Fluval Aquasky 2.0, (w/Bluetooth).

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

(I have just straight replacement LED tubes with timers to switch them on and off)

Are those on and offs gradual?

 

[Essjay]

No they are just on/off. But I have 2 'proper' tubes and a tiny LED stick which turn on and off at different times. And yes, three timers.
tiny LED on first
half an hour later big tube #1 on
half an hour later big tube #2 on
then a few hours later
big tube #1 off
half an hour later big tube #2 off
half an hour later tiny tube off

It's the best I can do with non-progammable lights.

Edit - forgot to say, tiny LED turns off after the second big tube turns on, then on again just before the first big tube goes off.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

No they are just on/off. But I have 2 'proper' tubes and a tiny LED stick which turn on and off at different times. And yes, three timers.
tiny LED on first
half an hour later big tube #1 on
half an hour later big tube #2 on
then a few hours later
big tube #1 off
half an hour later big tube #2 off
half an hour later tiny tube off

It's the best I can do with non-progammable lights.

Edit - forgot to say, tiny LED turns off after the second big tube turns on, then on again just before the first big tube goes off.

Much as I appreciate the new tech, I'm well aware that long before LEDs, with their fancy timers and gradual sunrises and sunsets, literally decades upon decades of fish managed without.
I'm also aware that most rooms with a tank in them are subjected to ambient light sources, which provide natural light at a gradual rate, at least in the morning.
So I suppose the only real advantage of a gradual lighting variance is towards the end of the day, when they get a sunset, as opposed to the switching off of room lights.

 

[noobfish]

Just remember this hobby is about constants. Light is an easily controlled constant. Be careful how much you fiddle, you may end up chasing your tail.
I still like 4 foot tank. T8 tubes. 4 x 4 foot tubes.( 2x day light, 1 x cool white, 1x growlux ) . 10 hours per day. This is a constant.

I've fiddled with mine for 6 weeks to get it where I wanted it (healthy plant growth and no algae). And light is absolutely not a constant in nature. Even in a tank, if you have windows in the room or go in the room and turn on/off the lights a time or two per day, the light is not a constant.

Someday you may give the programable LED lights a try and really like them. Not all new technology is evil

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Just remember this hobby is about constants. Light is an easily controlled constant. Be careful how much you fiddle, you may end up chasing your tail.

Very little in Nature is a constant, (excepting, of course, the Laws of Physics and chemical reactions ).
Temperature, light, biochemical compositions...all vary to some quite significant degrees.
That said, Nature and the ecosystems involved are significantly larger than our own little glass boxes and so those variables are more easily managed by the organisms within.

Because of their small size, those variables may be better managed by ourselves in our little ecosystems, but I would never personally advocate absolute constants for light.
When problems do arise, it helps, for example, to know what in the tank has changed. If the water was repeatedly changed, with a different biochemical profile each time, as is often the case in the wild, then we'd struggle to pinpoint the cause of any issue that arises. Keeping some things constant allows us to better diagnose problems and, of course, our little glass boxes are less resilient to changes than bigger ecosystems.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Someday you may give the programable LED lights a try and really like them. Not all new technology is evil

Warning: Potentially one for the unpopular opinions thread below

lol I'm pretty sure my Finnex lights are programmable. I so can't be bothered with that though. I have it set to max and stuck it on a mechanical timer. Probably because I work with tech (and getting old ) so the last thing I want to do is spend time messing with things like this when I'm relaxing.

By the time I have fish there will be plenty of plant cover to protect from the bright light and its next to a window so has most the day in ambient light to "wake up". Light to dark may be a different issue but again where the tank is there is dimmer ambient light until we go to bed and then its total darkness.

In my opinion (and it is totally opinion) the whole sunrise/sunset thing for the majority of fish is completely pointless. Unless the tank is kept in a totally dark room with no natural light it is almost entirely cosmetic.

I feel the same about being able to mess with the colour spectrum. For the majority of plants they have such a wide range of light usability that it really doesn't matter what you do with the light spectrum. Yes some plants coloration will be better with certain spectrum's of light, some growth might be faster too. I doubt any of us are qualified enough to be able to properly optimise that though.

The majority of the time you probably wouldn't notice the difference anyway and it is again more just a cosmetic. The whole "customise your lights" is purely just a marketing gimmick.

I have seen people grow amazing looking plants using household CFL's and tinfoil reflectors. LED units are great, being able to adjust colour temp for personal viewing preference, low energy consumption and variable intensity outputs are all great. But in terms of actually growing plants better especially with things like "plant boost" settings, I don't buy it

 

[Tez_20]

0 hours per day. This is a constant.

Mine are on from 9-5pm only.

Then the light will run what you set for the 24hr period.

Thanks for the advice but i think i will stick with my blue cooler in low affect which i like anyway because i don't want 24hr lighting

 

[noobfish]

Warning: Potentially one for the unpopular opinions thread below

lol I'm pretty sure my Finnex lights are programmable. I so can't be bothered with that though. I have it set to max and stuck it on a mechanical timer. Probably because I work with tech (and getting old ) so the last thing I want to do is spend time messing with things like this when I'm relaxing.

By the time I have fish there will be plenty of plant cover to protect from the bright light and its next to a window so has most the day in ambient light to "wake up". Light to dark may be a different issue but again where the tank is there is dimmer ambient light until we go to bed and then its total darkness.

In my opinion (and it is totally opinion) the whole sunrise/sunset thing for the majority of fish is completely pointless. Unless the tank is kept in a totally dark room with no natural light it is almost entirely cosmetic.

I feel the same about being able to mess with the colour spectrum. For the majority of plants they have such a wide range of light usability that it really doesn't matter what you do with the light spectrum. Yes some plants coloration will be better with certain spectrum's of light, some growth might be faster too. I doubt any of us are qualified enough to be able to properly optimise that though.

The majority of the time you probably wouldn't notice the difference anyway and it is again more just a cosmetic. The whole "customise your lights" is purely just a marketing gimmick.

I have seen people grow amazing looking plants using household CFL's and tinfoil reflectors. LED units are great, being able to adjust colour temp for personal viewing preference, low energy consumption and variable intensity outputs are all great. But in terms of actually growing plants better especially with things like "plant boost" settings, I don't buy it

While there are definitely gimmicks and sales tactics, it's not all smoke and mirrors. Plant boost is just a preset that you could program yourself. I think its more for those that want to get light on plants and start seeing results quickly, without having to spend time tinkering.

For sunrise/sunset, I agree that ambient lighting will play a factor in this. My tank is in a room with a north facing window with a curtain on it, so the ambient lighting isn't that great. When I would turn on my original light, everyone would scatter, and I mean gravel flying. Can't argue that that wasn't startling to them. If the sunrise/sunset feature gives them more security, I'm ok with that. Basic timers have the same feature too.

And I don't know that I am qualified enough, but I feel that I can optimize my lighting through observation. I turn levels up, adjusting and waiting/observing, until I see good growth. If I observe algae growth, I slightly lower levels. Small adjustments until I find balance. Not hard.

All that said, sure, other methods will work for people as well. I personally like the tech and adjustability. Of course I'm also the type that has been converting to a total smart home for the past couple years. I don't have to get up to turn things on. I'm relaxed AND lazy!

 

[noobfish]

Thanks for the advice but i think i will stick with my blue cooler in low affect which i like anyway because i don't want 24hr lighting

I'm not sure what you're referring to, but whatever works for you!

 

[noobfish]

Thanks for the advice but i think i will stick with my blue cooler in low affect which i like anyway because i don't want 24hr lighting

Nevermind, I get it now. You have to program periods of 0% light for all colors during the hours you want total darkness.

Example:

0000 - Everything 0%
0900 - Everything 0%
1030 - White 50% (light will gradually increase from 0-50 over 1.5hrs... sunrise)
1530 - White 50%
1700 - White 0% (light will gradually decrease from 50-0 over 1.5hrs... sunset)

Light will remain at 0% (total darkness) until 0900 the next day. It will repeat this cycle day after day. When you hit "preview", it will run this cycle in 60 seconds so that you can quickly see what the day cycle will be like.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

And I don't know that I am qualified enough, but I feel that I can optimize my lighting through observation. I turn levels up, adjusting and waiting/observing, until I see good growth. If I observe algae growth, I slightly lower levels. Small adjustments until I find balance. Not hard.

Which is just varying the light intensity, and that makes sense and is a positive. What I think is pointless is the varying the colour spectrum. I doubt changing the colour spectrum on your LED's does anything significant to the majority of plants we keep. It is almost entirely cosmetic. That's not a bad thing, choice is always good, but it's heavily marketed as being something you can use to "optimise" your light output.

I personally like the tech and adjustability. Of course I'm also the type that has been converting to a total smart home for the past couple years

Smarthome automation, you are Fluvals target audience

Plant boost is just a preset that you could program yourself.

Fluval's "it goes up to 11"

Don't get me wrong, its a cracking bit of kit. The options are a lot of fun for some people and it looks well put together. Its just that (again in my opinion) the only thing that matters for actual use is PAR output (assuming it is generally in the right spectrum) and how adjustable that PAR output is. Even T5/T8's were adjustable though, we just had to lift them up higher from the tank

My tank is in a room with a north facing window with a curtain on it, so the ambient lighting isn't that great. When I would turn on my original light, everyone would scatter, and I mean gravel flying.

Yeah can't argue with that. Guess all my tanks have just been in better lit rooms so never really had this trouble before.

Hope this does come across as the gentle ribbing its supposed to be. Despite all I just said I'm sure if someone was to give me one of these lights I would be spending many hours messing with the app getting it all "perfect"

 

[WhistlingBadger]

... its a cracking bit of kit.

I just want to chime in and say I love this expression. I need to start using it more. But it doesn't sound right with a Midwestern US accent.

Interesting discussion, everybody.

 

[Tez_20]

Nevermind, I get it now. You have to program periods of 0% light for all colors during the hours you want total darkness.

Example:

0000 - Everything 0%
0900 - Everything 0%
1030 - White 50% (light will gradually increase from 0-50 over 1.5hrs... sunrise)
1530 - White 50%
1700 - White 0% (light will gradually decrease from 50-0 over 1.5hrs... sunset)

Light will remain at 0% (total darkness) until 0900 the next day. It will repeat this cycle day after day. When you hit "preview", it will run this cycle in 60 seconds so that you can quickly see what the day cycle will be like.

I'll try this on thursday and see how it goes having stuff on and if my fish cark it your to blame

 

[noobfish]

Which is just varying the light intensity, and that makes sense and is a positive. What I think is pointless is the varying the colour spectrum. I doubt changing the colour spectrum on your LED's does anything significant to the majority of plants we keep. It is almost entirely cosmetic. That's not a bad thing, choice is always good, but it's heavily marketed as being something you can use to "optimise" your light output.

Isn't any adjustment for improved results a form of "optimizing"? Changing colors has an effect in what I see and what plant response is. I like the colors brought out with blue light, but blue is horrible for algae. So I like that I can adjust this to get a balance of visual aesthetics vs. what's best for the tank.

Smarthome automation, you are Fluvals target audience

Fluval's "it goes up to 11"

You're GD right it does

Hope this does come across as the gentle ribbing its supposed to be.

A few more minutes in my quiet corner and I shall be fine!

 

[noobfish]

I'll try this on thursday and see how it goes having stuff on and if my fish cark it your to blame

Uh oh