Reducing Photo-period- How short

[stubbsz]

I have 2 * 250 W Metal Halides on my tank. I'm thinking about reducing the Photo-period to save some cash. Most of my Coral looks like crap right now and I still can't figure out why... other than problems keeping my Alk up maybe.

So, I run them about 8 hours a day and want to shorten that period. Is there a minimum recommended period you can run your lights for before it starts adversely effecting your corals. Given that everything has stopped growing (except Xenia and coralline algae), I don't really care about slowing growth but I don't particularly want to hurt anything.

Thanks

-Adrian

P.s. I got a phone quote from solarcity after telling them my PG&E bill (they will come and do a real quote in person ) the quote was $45,000+ even with my fairly large eBay discount. This really made me think about how much my "reef" is costing me

[Nuuze]

I run my dual 250w halides 6 hours a day and T5 actinics 3 hours before and 3 hours after totaling 12 hours.

[tonggao]

I run two 250w MH for 6 hours and two 11w VHO for 4 hours a day, the the corals are growing well.

Btw, is solarcity a good choice for solar panels? Where can I find more info on solar panel installation? I am thinking about replacing the whole roof, can I just change part of the roof to solar panels? Probably a stupid question, but better to ask a stupid question than being stupid.

[delsol650]

THey calculate you monthly expense on electricity and put the amount of panels that would make enouigh electricity to cover the cost. it can be 1/4 of the roof to half..

Tong they have new ones that are basically like shingles. but isn't your roof tiles? plus most usually recommend installing them when your replacing your roof anyways.

[Sparkss]

MH for 6 hours and T5s for dawn dusk before/after the MH @ 4 hours in the morning and 2 in the evening.

[CruzinKim]

MH 6 hours, T5s 2 hours before & after. Switching to 100% T5 fixture to save on the PG&E bill and also lower heat transfer. I know, will loose the the shimmer effect and possibly some depth of field, but more variety of colors will pop out.

[stubbsz]

Originally posted by tonggao
I run two 250w MH for 6 hours and two 11w VHO for 4 hours a day, the the corals are growing well.

Btw, is solarcity a good choice for solar panels? Where can I find more info on solar panel installation? I am thinking about replacing the whole roof, can I just change part of the roof to solar panels? Probably a stupid question, but better to ask a stupid question than being stupid.

I've a colleague at PayPal who is a little further along with the process than me.... She's had estimates from about 4 or 5 people. A couple give eBay discounts to employees/contractors... solarcity was the best price for same size system. The guy mentioned that they use BP panels...solid black.. not the speckled looking monstrosities you sometimes see. There are solar tiles now that look maybe a little better ( I think they cost a 'little' more) . I'm thinking your house is a two story house isn't it, which would mean, less obvious from the street. Also, they go on south facing side of house so they check your orientation on Google-earth and see if they would be ugly eyesores or not. Frankly, I don't care too much, I think they are cool. I'll report back on my findings in a couple of weeks when they come by the house. You can put as much as a roof will bare but they won't bother unless they are in the right place and don't get shaded. Most of the cost of course is the panels... they are hella-expensive.

I'm really thinking of going with less lighting...or at least do something like you are doing to step the shock up gradually rather than blasting in the 500 Watts from nothing.. ( I do stagger the two lights by half an hour already)

[stubbsz]

Tong, is that 11w VHO of 110 VHO?

[Malster1]

Originally posted by delsol650
THey calculate you monthly expense on electricity and put the amount of panels that would make enouigh electricity to cover the cost. it can be 1/4 of the roof to half..

Tong they have new ones that are basically like shingles. but isn't your roof tiles? plus most usually recommend installing them when your replacing your roof anyways.

I just put on a new roof 3 month's ago. Darn that would have been a smart move. Then I could run all the tanks I want!

[Malster1]

I run my MH's (3) staggered as well, 1 one, 15 minutes later next one on, and then 15 minutes later the last one comes on. Each on for 5.75 hours, and then off 1 at a time. Actinic PC lighting on 15 minutes before MH's start coming on and 15 minutes after.

Thinking I will need to increase this so my coral's can grow faster, but my bill is so high right now with all my other tanks and TV's.

[tonggao]

Charles and Adrian, thanks for the info! I have wood shingles, and am thinking about changing the roof recently since the house is about 17 years old. Unfortunately, the front side is facing south, which means my neighbors might complain about the ugly looking roof if I put on solar panels (for part of the roof). But my electric bill is really taking a big bite on my wallet, and I really like to study into solar panel options.

Oh, the VHO I use are 110w, even though I wish they only draw 11w.

[Mikey Donuts]

Stubbsz- I run a single 150w on my 34 gallon for four hours a day. I run two blue T-5s 12 hours a day as well (not sure of the wattage). Zoos/Xenia/Fungia/Pipe organ coral are all growing like mad. After seeing Marko9's tank here in Sac I've switched to a shorter photoperiod. He runs MH for four hours and his SPS are some of the best I've seen. Might want to PM him for more info.

Mike

[stubbsz]

Thanks All. I'm tempted to cut back right away....logic is that things are sucking( I don't know why yet) and what more harm can I do anyway....yet, I don't want to change more stuff and confuse the picture anymore.