Does anyone simulate dawn/dusk?

[EcoPit]

I know a lot of reef keepers simulate dawn and dusk by having the lights go on and off in stages. Does anyone do this for their planted tanks? Can anyone think of any pros or cons?

I have four 40 watt flourescent tubes on my 55 gal. In the morning two tubes come on, and then 30 minutes later the other two come on. At night two go out, and thirty minutes later the other two go out.

I don't know if this is good, bad, or neutral for the plants, but I would think it would be less stressful on the fish.

 

[chefkeith]

I do it for my planted 190g tank. I haven't perfected the timers yet though.
Here's the lighting schedule I use right now for the 190g tank-

13w blue moonlight- 9am - 10am.
13w red dawn/dusk light - 9:30am to 10:30am
2- 55w cp lights- 10am to 4pm.
2- 96 w cp lights- 1pm to 5pm.
2- 55w cp lights - 2pm to 8pm.
13w red dusk dawn- 7:30pm - 8:30pm
13w blue moonlight- 8pm to 9pm

When the red and blue lights are on together the tank looks really nice. The lights give the water a crisp shimmering effect.

 

[beviking]

I do the same as you do Ecopit. One of the 2 bulbs that is on first and last is a Flora gro bulb which is more red which looks more like sunrise/sunset.

Keith, that is a :sick: lighting regime! :clap:

 

[EcoPit]

Keith, that is a :sick: lighting regime! :clap:

That is for sure! I wouldn't want to have to wire and time all of that. I bet it looks neat though!

Keith - Do you have pictures of your setups posted anywhere? After reading your tank specs and watching the short videos I am really intrigued. It sounds like you have an awesome setup!

 

[chefkeith]

I just posted some pics of my fishroom, the link is in my sig.
Here's a pic of the Timers for the 190g tank-

 

[EcoPit]

That doesn't look nearly as bad as I was picturing it.

That is a cool picture tour. Your setup is truly awesome. How much do the fish move through the tubes? Is the snail tank on the far right connected in some way to the other tanks? It looked like there was some connecting tubing there. The 190 looks absolutely amazing. I love the driftwood in there.

 

[chefkeith]

Thanks.

None of the snail tanks are not connected. I would like to be able to connect one snailtank, but somehow without the clown loaches being able to get into it.

The Tetra's don't use the bridges at all, (I think this is due to their schooling behavior) but all my other fish use the bridges in some fashion. Someday, I'll have to write an article about how each fish species has adapted.