Recreating a thunderstorm idea....

[am3gross]

I personally wouldn't put Xmas lights in a hood with moisture, etc. You just might get a real light show going one day!

Would you put Xmas lights up on your house, where it actually soaks them when it rains?

 

[Scdell]

Would you put Xmas lights up on your house, where it actually soaks them when it rains?

You darn well know that's not the same thing. It doesn't rain saltwater. Saltwater creeps all the time. When you're sleeping, away from the house, etc. That is when the problems start.
You want to do it ? Go for it! I wish you the best of luck.

 

[am3gross]

I have not got salt creep on the ceiling ever, just around the rim of the tank, if there. I am pretty sure I will be ok.

Were these lights made to go over a reef tank, No. Is there a risk in it? Sure, but at the end of the day we all have some kind of electrical device hanging above or below our tanks that can cause issues down the road. With the proper maintenance and observation of what is going on, everyone will be ok.

 

[Scdell]

I don't have any risky stuff hanging over or under my tank. Thus I sleep well at night. We've all heard stories about someone doing things out of the ordinary or on the cheap.
Do what you want. It's your tank.

 

[User1]

Few comments. First corals do like change. Change as it relates to flow because that is how it is in the Ocean and how they eat, remove waste, etc. I think this was noted above and a replay was that they like stability. They do like stable water parameters, agreed Random flow though is ok.

Lets talk about storms and remove Christmas lights. Storms based on a over the counter product may be more like a gimmick because of how it is implemented. Not all are like this but what I'm trying to point out that a cloud or storm effect based on a set time isn't random and probably not going to change anything when it is happening at the same time every day...

There is a bigger picture here and that is a controller. Depending on the controller we can now start to mix things up and possibly have a true random effect be it day, week, month, and time. If you look at what I posted above the Reef Angel has a cloud and storm function that does just that. Its main loop will check the cloud routine, cloud routine will do some random calculations, and there may be a cloud effect or not. It will also determine if there is a storm or thunder. This is random and not at a set time. You can also allow it to focus change only one a set controlled light. Now add in random flow, ramp up, turn them all on full, etc - you have a storm. And said storm may or may not happen for days in between or back to back or what have you. You can even turn off the storm/thunder and just let the dimming happen and flow increase.

So many options so it just depends on what one is trying to do and with what controller they have or do not have. Does it help in the big picture? I think it will vary by hobbyist and their views. I had it setup and run and would run it. The increased and random flow seemed to help bring up junk off the sand, rocks, and what not. Once done I'd run nutrient transport flow pattern to help get the skimmer to remove it.

Still not sure long term but it didn't hurt. I do know that.

 

[Scdell]

Few comments. First corals do like change. Change as it relates to flow because that is how it is in the Ocean and how they eat, remove waste, etc. I think this was noted above and a replay was that they like stability. They do like stable water parameters, agreed Random flow though is ok.

Lets talk about storms and remove Christmas lights. Storms based on a over the counter product may be more like a gimmick because of how it is implemented. Not all are like this but what I'm trying to point out that a cloud or storm effect based on a set time isn't random and probably not going to change anything when it is happening at the same time every day...

There is a bigger picture here and that is a controller. Depending on the controller we can now start to mix things up and possibly have a true random effect be it day, week, month, and time. If you look at what I posted above the Reef Angel has a cloud and storm function that does just that. Its main loop will check the cloud routine, cloud routine will do some random calculations, and there may be a cloud effect or not. It will also determine if there is a storm or thunder. This is random and not at a set time. You can also allow it to focus change only one a set controlled light. Now add in random flow, ramp up, turn them all on full, etc - you have a storm. And said storm may or may not happen for days in between or back to back or what have you. You can even turn off the storm/thunder and just let the dimming happen and flow increase.

So many options so it just depends on what one is trying to do and with what controller they have or do not have. Does it help in the big picture? I think it will vary by hobbyist and their views. I had it setup and run and would run it. The increased and random flow seemed to help bring up junk off the sand, rocks, and what not. Once done I'd run nutrient transport flow pattern to help get the skimmer to remove it.

Still not sure long term but it didn't hurt. I do know that.

Wholeheartedly agree. I have the Ghl Mitras lights. I can and do have the pumps synced to thunderstorms. It really is quite random when a storm will show up. Sometimes a couple times a day, sometimes not for days or weeks. I like it.