Recommended lighting schedule?

[Clarinuto]

Have a 75 g tank with 4 T5’s one set of two bulbs and a second set of 2 bulbs can be programmed together. I currently have ATI blue plus and purple bulbs on for 6 hours and in the middle of that period ATI 10k and Actinic join the other two for one hour. I currently have LPS and soft corals. Would like to add a monti cap, some Stylophora, and birdsnest eventually. What should my lighting schedule be?

 

[jda]

10 hours... just turn them all on and all off at the same time.

 

[Clarinuto]

Thank you!! Would love to hear more feedback also

 

[Clarinuto]

Bump :)

 

[Clarinuto]

Well I added an hour yesterday to peak lighting and to the overall lighting schedule. So far so good. I am worried about algae growth if I up it all the way to 10 hours full blast so I’m not sure if I will do that. I will probably slowly up everything to 8 hours and see how it goes.

 

[jda]

Limiting algae by limiting lighting is a fools errand, IMO. If you stave algae in the tank, then you starve algae in the corals. Keep building blocks low, but detectable and have a lot of consumers.

 

[Clarinuto]

Limiting algae by limiting lighting is a fools errand, IMO. If you stave algae in the tank, then you starve algae in the corals. Keep building blocks low, but detectable and have a lot of consumers.

That’s a good point. I’ve been doing a decent job of managing the building blocks. My nitrates do get high sometimes though