Lighting schedule

[skiltrip]

I just got a new compact flourescent striplight. i have a 37 gallon tank with one very large swordplant in it.

the striplight has got two bulbs, so it can run at 65watts or 130watts. i upgraded from a 20watt striplight.

right now I have it running 12 hours on timers...

- 5 hours at 65watts

- 2 hours at 130watts

- 5 hours at 65watts

- lights out.

does this sound like a good schedule? should i run the 130 watts more or less time? or is 2 hours good? i realize that as i go along, i may adjust to what works best for me, but is this a good place to start?

- kip

 

[Oldman]

Why run at 65w, ehen you have got 130w , why not try something like this.
you could stagger the start time of the 2 lights by a few minutes, giving the effect of dawn & dusk. The 4 hour break will help minimise algae growth.


on at 7am
off at 12 noon
on at 4pm
off at 10pm

 

[aquamanis]

Hi Skiltrip, that sounds like a good setup although a bit of overkill for one plant. I think the staggered timing is good and you could take it one more step and have two slightly different light spectrums, red and blue tubes. Have the blue come on for four hours, then have the blue and red together for four hours, and then just the red for four hours to simulate the normal daytime sun. As a note though you have 3 and a half watts per galon which will probably bring about the need for CO2 injection. Keep an eye for any calcium buildup which is a sign of too much light/not enough CO2.

 

[skiltrip]

aquamanis,

i suppose it is overkill for one plant, but i do plan on getting more plants, that's why i went with the 130watt light.

i'm running most of the day at 65watts now to avoid a co2 problem. that's why i figured a 2 hour boost to 130watts in the middle of the day would be enough.

Thanks for the idea of the two different bulbs, but i just dropped some dough on this dual compact flourescent light from Coralife. Not changing anything just yet!

So staggered lighting doesn't take away from what the plant needs to do? (photosynthesis, etc.)? seems kind of unnatural.

- kip

 

[aquamanis]

Goodaye Kip, I figured you,ll probably add more plants later on. I just want to say when I said I thought staggered lighting was good I meant switching between one and two globes and then back to one again. I don,t like the idea of turning lights off in between sessions, it might work to cut the algae down but with good plant growth you wont have to worry about that anyway. As you pointed out, its not natural. I,m experimenting with liquid carbon at the moment to supplement the lighting. I,ll let you know how it goes.

 

[skiltrip]

Cool, right now, i'm still doing the 5 hours one bulb, 2 hours two bulbs, 5 hours one bulb, then lights out. seems to be working ok.