I've been looking into it and was wondering if anyone had a set up with their lights on timers that gradually go on and off. I already have my lights on timers just was curious to see if anyone attempted this and how they went about doing.
I think the OP is asking if anyone has them timed to dimmers that will slowly bring them from 0%(off) to 100%.
Something like that would probably cost more than it would be worth to your average individual. You won't see any improved growth in your tank because of it, if that's what you're asking.
I've read about people who have multiple lights on their tank that go on and off at different times to give the illusion of the light getting dimmer or brighter.
There are CFL's that work on dimmers. Also, there are tubes which, with some help from the ballast, can dim to below 50% original output without wasting any overhead power. Basically the electronic ballast cycles the bulbs on/off 20,000 times per second instead of the 60 you get from household current(this is why some people, sometimes, can see them "flickering"). You can drop the amount of time the lights are left on for, the frequency, but leave the amplitude alone, and this dims them. That's not exact, but that's the gist of it.
Fluorescent bulbs don't like to be dimmed, and its harder to do so. Need a different style to do that, such as LED. Even then, as said, the cost is quite high, unless your handy with micro-controllers and code.