Bad idea to have two separate photoperiods every day?

[bleedingthought]

I like feeding a little twice everyday. It's getting harder and harder to do that because of my work since I've been leaving before/around 7AM to go to work and my lights are on from 7AM to 7PM. I also have been getting home around 6:30PM so I feel rushed to feed them or even "get to watch them" (I'm stuck with "lunar-light-viewing" only). Would my reef be ok if I split (and cut down to 10 hrs instead of 12hrs a day) my lighting period to:

On at 6AM-8AM.

On again at 3PM-9PM.

Total of 10 hours, but a "dark" period for 7 hours in the morning/afternoon and then another one for 9 hours overnight. Would my corals react differently or even suffer/benefit from it being split up? Would it be any different if it was only 1 hour in the morning and then 7 in the afternoon/evening? Or even two 4 hour periods?

Trying to find a way I can feed them around 7AM and again around 7PM while also cutting down my lighting to about 8 hours and also being able to watch my lit tank at night.

Thoughts?

Thanks

 

[Nautilus1]

Your going to have pH swings with the light going on and off like that. If you have arefugium on a reverse photperiod than U will be able to minimize the pH swings. When ur lights are on photosynthethis will drive the pH up. pH will decrease with the light s off. So if u have them going on and off like u want you will have ur pH changing 4 time s a day. I think having the lights on for one hour in the morning would be your best alternative. In 1 hour, i dont think your pH would max out so the change in pH would be minimized. But you cant really know this with out doing pH measurements
You would also be effecting the physiology of the coral that is controlled by light and dark cycles. That would require a lengthy explanation that im not prepared to go into.

 

[bleedingthought]

Just skip morning feedings and change my light period to from 2PM to 10PM and keep my fuge light on reverse cycle then?? :?

 

[Nautilus1]

Yep, thats how mine is set up.

 

[CiXeL]

i was considering doing this same thing cuz im in florida now and have to deal with the heat in the middle of the day which isnt entirely controlled by air conditioning so im getting uglier temp swings now and no sump/chiller but im also unemployed right now so buying a sump/chiller/sump pump/plumbing isnt really a option right now.

 

[das75]

Can't comment on 2 photo periods, but are you able to switch any of the bulbs independent of the others. Reason being to extend time tank is lite with dawn/dusk effect.

I wanted to have the lights on for me and the wife when our shifts work out one after the other. I have the fluorescents (80W NO) on 11:00am to 11:30pm and overlapping the MHs 1:00PM-9:00PM. The 80W give enough light on the 145g for checking and feeding.

You might consider to have 1 -110W 6:30am-7:30pm, others fire up 7:00am-7:00pm or some other offset time.

 

[Anonymous]

>...Would my corals react differently or even suffer/benefit from it being split up?

Yes, they will live hafe as long... jk.

Seriously, I have no comment but just want to say that the photo period you mentioned is eight hours, not 10.

 

[Anonymous]

FWIW, My tank lights come on at noon and go off at 10:30pm, so I can watch the tank in the evening when I am home.

 

[brandon4291]

I seriously think not much would happen after an initial adjustment period as long as transitions between the heavy lighted and dark phases were slow, maybe like an actinics-on-first technique. Owing to the nature of plants, I've had systems that were all-on before and it wasn't any different. If I'm correct plants (and corals to some extent I surmise) have adaptations to deal with the dark cycles, but they aren't required to sustain life. That is more the job of the photosynthetic period for sure.

I have turned my own picos on just a few times at 2 am when I was up that late and wanted to see them. it took about 30 mins, but the tank was up and fully expanded just like the day before. I say try it and let us know.

B

 

[brandon4291]

also, I'm interested in the pH readouts like mentioned above. I predict them to be within the normal ranges as long as the tank isn't just completely packed with photosynthesizers, and any refugium-balancing employed opposite of the front tank lighting should still control them like they do in the normal on/off phases?

 

[bleedingthought]

7E, you're right: 8, not 10 hours. Thanks for the correction! Algae has picked up a little in my tank so I wanted to cut the 12 hour lighting period down a considerable amount to see if it helps.

Das75, my ballast has two separate switches, so I have only two sets.

Brandon, that is the first thing I thought: my PH would be help up, at least to some extent, by my fuge/sump light. But how much is yet to be tested. And as far as testing the PH changes, I wouldn't be able to do that during the "mid-day dark period" since I'm at work all the time, really...

And Laura, that's most of my problems: Watching the tank. Feeding the fish in the morning was also something I wanted to accomplish though.

I've been getting home later and later after work and missing out on a lit tank. So changing my period is definitely required for my happiness, and I also know that the inhabitants won't mind that. I might have to give up that early feeding and just watch how much they're eating on a "once a day" habit.

Thanks a lot guys! :wink:

Anyone else?