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RE: [GSAS-Member] Using Actinic/Blue Lights in Freshwater

Anita,

Gotcha.  I would agree a 3 hour dawn or dusk cycle is a bit
lengthy....though I would love to see it, if I had the right sunset or
sunrise.....would be cool to watch.
My friend that owns the saltwater tank with the wild computer driven
lighting and heating system on it is from Hawaii and he is a
she.......~~laughing~~.......I know, too much info.

Clay

-----Original Message-----
From: A JACOBSON [mailto:amjacobson52@msn.com] 
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2004 11:26 PM
To: Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member chat
Subject: Re: [GSAS-Member] Using Actinic/Blue Lights in Freshwater


I wasn't actually addressing you, but somewhere early in this thread
someone said "I am thinking that the dawn to dusk effect of using a set
of 1000K/Deep Blue lights for 3 hours switching to the 6700K lights for
5 then back to the 1000K/Deep Blue lights will achieve this. What do you
think?"  A delayed reaction, I'll admit, but your description of your
friend with the really cool light cycle on his tank (which sounded
perfect) reminded me of my original concern when reading about a 3 hour
dawn & a 3 hour dusk.

Anita
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Hess, Clay A<mailto:clay.a.hess@boeing.com> 
  To: gsas-member@thekrib.com<mailto:gsas-member@thekrib.com> 
  Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2004 10:11 PM
  Subject: RE: [GSAS-Member] Using Actinic/Blue Lights in Freshwater


  Anita,

  I am not sure if you are talking about the time I have my lights on or
  something else.  But, I am not trying to simulate any cycle with my
  fish.  The vast majority of my fish were bred in tanks  here the
states,
  for who knows how many generations, and I am not sure they would
  recognize a cycle if shown one now....~~laughing~~.  My neighbors tank
  does simulate the dawn to dusk cycle according to the tropics,
  specifically the tropical Pacific, since that is where the majority of
  her fish came from.  I don't know how that affects her fish.  She
might,
  I have never asked her though.  Could be an interesting question
though.

  Clay

  -----Original Message-----
  From: A JACOBSON [mailto:amjacobson52@msn.com] 
  Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2004 9:43 PM
  To: Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member chat
  Subject: Re: [GSAS-Member] Using Actinic/Blue Lights in Freshwater


  I have a little problem with the long dawn / dusk periods, at least
from
  a theoretical standpoint.  At the equator dawn & dusk are very short
--
  the farther away from the equator, the longer the transitional
periods.
  If we're talking about tropical fish, I would think the equatorial
model
  would be closer to what they would naturally encounter.  If you had a
  species only tank, it might be neat to find out how long dawn/dusk
lasts
  in the area they come from, and duplicate that.

  Those natural moon cycles are incredibly cool, though.

  Anita
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Hess, Clay
A<mailto:clay.a.hess@boeing.com<mailto:clay.a.hess@boeing.com>> 
    To:
gsas-member@thekrib.com<mailto:gsas-member@thekrib.com<mailto:gsas-membe
r@thekrib.com<mailto:gsas-member@thekrib.com>> 
    Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2004 8:36 PM
    Subject: RE: [GSAS-Member] Using Actinic/Blue Lights in Freshwater


    Al,

    Yes, you are correct.  I actually have a combination of a number of
    various spectrum lights on three different aquariums.  Each seems to
  do
    well, two of the tanks have the 10,000K lights on them, one is a
combo
    10,000K/6700K bulb I believe.  I do not cycle my lights relative to
  one
    another, they all come on in the morning (~5am)and are on til about
  11pm
    at night.  I do not currently use CO2 on any of my tanks. And, I do
  not
    have a wet/dry filter on any of these tanks at this time, they
  primarily
    use back filters.

    My one 100 gallon tank has, the 10,000K/6700K combo light and a
5000K
    bulb on one side of it (all from AH supply) and the other side is 5
13
    watt compact flourescent lights that replace 5 standard 60 watt
    incandescent bulbs (put together from Home Depot parts).  I flip
these
    two hoods from side to side on the tank about every other month.  I
    really like the look of the fish under the combo light side, the
"Home
    Depot" side is much yellower and not as bright.  The "Home Depot"
side
    tends to produce more algae, but, the plants grow faster too.  SO,if
I
    flip the two sides back and forth it seems to control the algae
better
    and lets the plants have bursts of growth and then slow periods as
  well
    with nothing dying. The fish in this tank include a number of
rainbows
    and tetras that look really good in the combo light, but, not so
good
    under the "Home Depot" lights. This tank has sword plants, crypts,
    anubias, floating plants and some java fern.  This tank has very
  little
    algae growth on the walls of the tank too.

    Another 100 gallon tank has a mix of two 4 foot shop lights
    (Spectralight bulbs)(from Home Depot again), two 36" bulbs (from The
    Fish Store in Seattle), one is a 10,000K light, the other is a full
    spectrum bulb and a 11 watt (~7 bulb)compact flourescent bulb (from
  Home
    Depot) at one end.  This tank is much darker than my other 100
gallon
    tank, but, it is also much heavier planted with anubias, java fern
and
    bulbitus.  I really like the way my fish with blue colors show up in
    this tank.  I have some peacocks and C. Moorii in this tank that are
    dynamite to look at.  However, my clown loaches do now show well in
  this
    tank at all.  The plants in this tank grow very slowly, but, I have
  very
    little algae build up on the tank walls too and I like the low
    maitenance of that.

    I have been experimenting with my other two tanks, a 55 hexagon and
    another 100 gallon tank and cannot get a combination of lighting
that
    works well at slowing the algae growth in them.  Part of the reason
  for
    this I believe is the amount of natural light these two tanks see.
    Soooo, I am not sure it would be helpful to explain what the
lighting
  is
    on these two, other than to say, neither tank has a 10,000K light on
    them.

    Finally, your question about shifting the lighting to simulate dawn
to
    dusk sounds interesting from a visual perspective.  I have a
neighbor
    with a system that does this on her reef tank.  It is computer
    controlled and simulates the moon phases, as well as the daylight
  hours
    throughout the year.  Major money in her system, but, it is cool to
    watch with her corals and such....the corals and other live critters
  do
    react to the changes in light and you can see them do it.  On a
plant
    tank I am not sure you can see any reaction other than the fish
  finding
    a sleeping place for the night.  I would like to hear how this all
  goes
    for you when you have it up and running the way you would like to
have
    it.

    Clay

    -----Original Message-----
    From:
carrera206@comcast.net<mailto:carrera206@comcast.net<mailto:carrera206@c
omcast.net<mailto:carrera206@comcast.net>>
  [mailto:carrera206@comcast.net] 
    Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2004 11:59 AM
    To:
gsas-member@thekrib.com<mailto:gsas-member@thekrib.com<mailto:gsas-membe
r@thekrib.com<mailto:gsas-member@thekrib.com>>
    Subject: [GSAS-Member] Using Actinic/Blue Lights in Freshwater


    Thanks for all the responses.

    Clay- What exactly is your light config? Are you using the 10000K
  lights
    and if so what is the color cast (I think it is a bluish white)? It
    sounded like you used the 10000K or 10000K/Deep Blue combo lights
with
  a
    6700K or 5000K light. Is this correct?

    I am currently using the AH supply retrofit kit 4 x 96 watt CF
bulbs.
    One pair of 5000K and one pair of 6700K. I run the lights on a cycle
  of
    the pair of 5000K lights turning on for 5 hrs or so and the pair of
    6700K lights taking over for another 5 hours with some overlap with
  all
    4 of the lights on for 0.5 hrs or so. I like the change that occurs
  with
    the different lights but although the CRI is quite high with the
5000K
  &
    6700K lights I wondered if the 10000K or lights might make the fish
  look
    better. I tend to like a bluer light despite my having pretty white
    lights now.

    I am thinking that the dawn to dusk effect of using a set of
  1000K/Deep
    Blue lights for 3 hours switching to the 6700K lights for 5 then
back
  to
    the 1000K/Deep Blue lights will achieve this. What do you think?

    I don't have a lot of plants other than annubus and a couple of java
    fern, but they do not grow much. I believe that I don't have enough
  CO2
    in the water because of my wet/dry trickle filter and my main
interest
    is the fish.

    Thanks again,

    Al

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