Lighting cycle/power strip configuration

[Subliminal]

When I had the actinic, 10k, lunar led setup, I used:

1 regular power strip (~$8)
2 Heavy duty home depot timers $~8 each

I plugged the actinics into one, and they came on around 10am and off at 8:30

I plugged the 10ks into the second one and they came on at 10:30ish and off at 8ish


The LEDs I just let run 24/7....LEDs last for a long LONG time.

 

[lawnman]

lighting and rock

:dance: I have my timers set and I'm ready to go and get some rock to start off my 55g reef. How much base rock or live rock should I start off with?

 

[Grins]

1-2#s per gallon. Get at least 60% live if you want to seed the base before too terribly long.

 

[lawnman]

Grin, What do you mean by seed the base before too terribly long?

 

[Umbra_Vipera]

Grin, What do you mean by seed the base before too terribly long?

What he means by "seed" is to use the organisms in the live substrate to reproduce and populate the rest of it. Live substrate is more expensive than non-live so by reducing the amount of live needed, you can save some money.

So for example, you could have 95% non-live and 5% live, but it will take longer to cycle the tank and longer to get all of the substrate active. If you follow Grin's advice and go with 60% live to start, you are going to be able to get ahead of the curve and reduce the time to get things going. Of course, you could get 100% live substrate and get ahead even more, but you still have to cycle your tank. It basically boils down to how much you are willing to spend.