Day Time - Night Time Lighting

Welcome to AC!

I have heard of people using a few bulbs and having them on timers go on and off at certain times. So, at like 6 a.m., one light would go on, then 7, another, 8, another, and finally 9 a.m. another simulating how the sun comes up. Then, at 6 p.m., they start to go off one by one. It sounds pretty cool. I might do that in the very distant future.

I only have one strip light per tank (I have 3 tanks). I have a timer and all the tank lights come on at 9am and turn off at 9pm. I also have a few Miracle BEAM LED lights on 24 hours (blue of course). This simulates moonlight IMO. They have other colors..IE, red,green,orange, and purple. Blue is natural so this is the color I use.

Hey JamisonBWolsh, what wattage are the lights in your tanks?

good question... I know I have a 40 watt 50/50 blue light from coral life on my 60 gallon... the others on my 20 and 10 gallon...dont know..they came with the light? I dont have plants....so dont need a whole bunch of light.

I have 2x36 watts over my planted 30g, controlled by a timer to be on 12 hrs a day. I also have a 13w red moonlight, also on a timer. It comes on a little before the main lights go out and stays on until 12:30 am so that I can check things out in the evening. The 13w come back on about a half hour before the main lights, to give the fish a little wake up call, and then turn off after the big lights come on. Two timers from the Home Depot, maybe $15.

The red makes a nice moonlight, but the 13w is a little much on the 30g -- I have to block some of the light to keep it muted enough. Something a little smaller might be nicer, depending on tank size. I like the moonlight best mounted as far back as possible, mine is actually above the back rim -- all the decor gets nice dramatic shadows and looks more naturally nocturnal, rather than just badly lit.

Red light as moonlight light??? Strange.... I would think BLUE light from LEDS would work best.... Looks alot better than red light as well! try it!

It might look better to you, but his probably looks better to the fish. He's trying to simulate night and we've all talked about red lights being seen less brightly by fish.

Well...just let me know the next time your in the wild and you see red light in the rivers and lakes. Moonlight matches more closely to blue light. As for fish seeing red...yes they see red as plain as day. That is just an urban myth. Example: I tried a red light and a blue light on my 60 gallon tank. My elephant nose wont go anywhere near the spot that the red light is. The blue light is fine and he swims throughout the tank when it is on. I took the red light OUT and added blue lights to all my tanks (3). Its like a whole new hobby. ALL my night fishes come out and swim with the BLUE light on. Works GREAT. Red light did not work for me at all. I have petricola catfish in my 60 and 20 gallon tanks. They hide all day and come out at night when the BLUE light is on. So this does not bother them at all.

Fish not seeing Red light is a MYTH!

First off, Jamison, I didn't say they couldn't see it. I said that they see it less brightly (watt for watt). Also before you go around claiming you have found the truth and everyone needs to head your advice and disregard hundreds of other's experience, remember that you have had experience with this ONE SETUP using LED's. I wouldn't exactly call what you did a perfect scientific experiment. You need many, not just a few, setups with everything else the same and change only the lighting to check the reactions. You are always so eager to prove someone else wrong. I'm stating what I've heard countless times from experienced people. Let's not forget that you have been knicknamed "the boy who cried wolf" too! I don't mean this as an insult, just don't go stating your experience as FACT, just tell someone what you experienced. They will respect you more for being straightforward and honest. I followed very closely the thread you posted about your experience with your LED's. I think you did a great thing by testing for yourself, also. But I would hardly call this "the way it is".

Please understand that I'm trying to be honest and respectful of your opinion, but that you downed my remark. I'm not attacking you, just explaining my point of view. I have seen you in debates several times with people about your opinion, under the guise of "FACTS".