[das04j]

Ive been reading alot of sites and they recommend having your actinics on for about 30 minutes prior to the other lights and after. I have a set of 18 LED moonlights with a wavelength of about 470nm. Will that take care of the job?

[e_baer]

It is hard to say. Think of how the sun rises and set. It is a slow process and the amount of light shining into the water where the corals are slowly increases or decreases. That is the whole point to turning the actinics on before the main lights go on. The corals and fish could get light shocked and expell their zooxanthallae if the lights are suddenly turned on.

[unclejed]

It is a good practice. Up to 3 hours in front of the daylight and 1 hour after may be adequate. In case you are wondering, 8 hours of daylight.

[WILLIAM1]

I run 12 hours of light 12 hrs of atinics and 10 hrs of daylight the atinics turn on 1 hr before the daylights and go off 1 hr after.

[hosser]

I run my Actinics 2 hours prior and post my daylight bulb which I only run for 8, Im going to slowly up it to 10 though

[das04j]

will the moonlights suffice for the actinics? its 18 LED 470nm

[das04j]

the reason i am wondering is becuase i have a 5 tube HOt5 but they all run on one plug

[hosser]

Im under the impression that LEDs are strictly for viewing without having to run your lights, such as at night. I could be 100% wrong though. Lighting is by far my weakest of many weak points. I have intrest in this thread though cause Im curious as well. Same with halides, is it just the light that works or is it something with HOW the light works? Good luck on the answer, someone here will enlighten us they always do

[Jason L]

go as long as you feel you can i run 14 hr actinics and 8 hrs daylight and moon led all day and night.There is no right or wrong answer to this question.

[hosser]

Do LED's actually have any function for the livestock or is it strictly a way to see your tank without having lights on? A simple "moon" for the tank to be viewed?

[das04j]

Ok let me rephrase the question. Does anyone know what are the essential wavelengths of actinic lighting?

[IceMan]

Originally Posted by das04j

will the moonlights suffice for the actinics? its 18 LED 470nm

the corals need light at 420 nm and expend more energy say at 470 nm to convert that to useable light. but yes it will suffice to keep from getting shocked by the sudden light or SHOULD suffice

[IceMan]

the two most common are 420 and 460 but the 420 is what gives the best growth

the LEDs are just for aesthetic purposes, but could actually help just as a wave maker will. the trick is trying to make the coral feel at home

[e_baer]

the LED MOONLIGHTS are called moonlights for a reason. You can get them in different colors, but I have heard it is good when you are trying to get fish to breed, it is also good for filter feeding corals that open up at night. That is what I have heard, not sure if there is any truth in that though.