Lighting question - nighttime level?

[RocksNStuff]

Hello everyone,
I have a 4 bulb T5 setup and a separate small LED that sits on top of the tank.

The LED is set to blue over night and white during the day with the T5s. I ramp up the LED starting at 8:30am and from 9am to 7pm the white LED and T5s run at 100%. The white LED then ramps down and switches to blue for the whole night.

Should I be running more light over night? Is it ok to run just small blue LEDs?

I ask because I noticed that my corals are closing over night and then wake up again in the morning. Is this normal?

Thanks.

 

[Tannermule]

It is normal for them to close up. Some "open" at night to feed. I run moonlight on my radions just because I have it in a center room and it's a nice aesthetic. I've read that moon light encourages spawning of inverts and corals, but not likely your corals will spawn.
I'm still interested in other people's thoughts

 

[Reef.]

Should be zero lights at night, the fish need to sleep.

 

[RocksNStuff]

Should be zero lights at night, the fish need to sleep.

So does that mean no blue lights either? Maybe just very dim blue lights?

 

[Shirak]

So does that mean no blue lights either? Maybe just very dim blue lights?

I have moon lights on my tank from Neptune which follow the lunar cycle and intensity. Some of the higher end LED fixtures have moon light options. They are bluish and just a watt or two so very dim but look nice.

 

[Reef.]

So does that mean no blue lights either? Maybe just very dim blue lights?

no lights at all, fish and corals come from the sea where it's pitch black for around 12 hours a night.

Yes the moon is out at night but a few feet under the sea it will be much darker, any light you provide at night will be many times brighter than they are naturally used too and they don't have eyelids to close either.

 

[Bpb]

Pitch black overnight.

 

[jda]

My too... no light overnight... just whatever can make it into the room from the windows. Clownfish, damsels and some corals all will still spawn/eggs, if that is what you are after... and it is NOT what I am after, so I do not care anyway.