Hello all... I have corals, fish and inverts in my tank. Do you guys think that keeping the moon lights on at night is a bad practice? Please advise. I have a hairy mushroom, and a zooanthid right underneath the lights at the top...


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

i dont think it would hurt, think of it like a forever full moon.

FWIW my moonlights are only on for a few hours a night.

Mine are on whenever my daytime lights are off on my AP24. I haven't noticed any adverse effects.

Mine are on 24/7 since I haven't bothered to get a timer for it yet. No problems. Tank is very healthy.

Thanks!

It completely depends on how bright the moonlights are.

What he said. ( and how shallow the tank)

i doubt that's a problem... I don't think there's any benefit to complete darkness

i really like all three stages of light, mh, actincs and moon. it seems very hard in order to do this on a nano tank. it can be done, but its around 600 bucks for the tank in 12 gallon.

can a cycle of 12 hours a day for a 150w 20k hqi and 12 hours a day for a 1 w coralife led be a good one?

will the corals glow and pop as much under a 1 w led like they do under actinics?

psh not 600 bucks! what are you looking at? you can get a sunpod with those features for around 200 plus 10 for a timer (times 3 if you really need one for the mh, actnics, and moon leds individually) equals 230 plus or minus- definately could do a whole setup like that tho imo for around 200 and run the 12 g open topped. bonus- the light will fit an upgrade.

this is the only thing ive come across with all three for a combo...

http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php...products_id=359

and thats just for the lighting! 359!

i didnt think the sunpods come with actincs? just mh and moon lights?

if im subject to only having two out of the three, i guess i will just do a 12 hours on with mh and 12 hours on with moon light time combo.

i would really prefer to have the tank under 10 gallons and tall compared to wide. i think im going to have to custom build an acrylic for what im looking for. a guy close to me has all the scrap acrylic i can leave with for 10 bucks. i think thats what im going to do.

i really want to do it like reefcentrals TOTM. id like to stay under 12 inches long. and i want it all acrylic/glass, no black stripping.

Propagator, do you want to sell any of your rics?

Sophie, not trying to speaking on Props behalf, but I believe his ric tank crashed and he was only able to save a few rics. So he might not be at the point where he is selling them anymore (well at least at this time). I'm not positive, just a little FYI.

Sophie- Also this isn't a selling forum. You can PM him if you have questions regarding things for sale.

I leave the moonlights on my BC8 on all night long

U could either leave the nite lights on or buy your fish nite vision goggles or implant sonars in their foreheads.... what ever is the easiest for U

The Sunpod does not have actinics.

nighttime = moon. moonlights on @ nighttime...

not all the time!

anyone have a link to the DIY monthly moon cycle timer/dimmer? If i'm gonna have a moonlight it may as well be authentic...

true. i understand the moon cycle, overcast skies etc... just in the general sense...

I leave mine on 24/7. 2-1w led's really don't do too much except look pretty.

Best not to be bogged down in the micro-details of running a reef.

LOL but ARE they really necessary? IOW if u don't have them will they cause adverse affects on your corals? As for fish, I'm sure they are fine in dark. I mean really how many of u have pitch black in your houses? If u look in a room, there is usually ambient from something.

I've always been under the impression moonlights were looks only. They were originally done to mimic lunar cycles for spawning and other purposes. Fwiw I imagine excluding animals that use the moons light source for finding spawning grounds(sea turtles? Etc) it wouldn't matter. I think the gravitational pull with the cycle is more important.

I use my moonlight(blue rio sun) till about midnight. Then I shut it off. It's purely for viewing purposes for me. It does make a Lot of colors pop, and gives me shimmer for a few hours. But a lot of zoas close up when the moonlight goes on so I have a very small full viewing window.