do i need to leave halide light on for corals all day??

im getting a clamp on 150w halide light for my 40 gal

as the corals need the light how long do i leave the light on each day???
will they die if i turn it off?

 

Most leave the light on 8 to 10 hours a day and run actinics 10 to 12 hours, 1 to 2 hours before and after the MH in on.

They will die if they have little or no light for a very extended period.

 

i am new to the hobby can u explain what actinics are?? are they a blue light?
will there be actinics in the halide unit?
so the halide unit is not enough??

 

Actinics are bulbs with a different spectrum of light that do appear blue.Alot of people supplement halide lighting with actinics but it's not totally necessary. Halide bulbs with a kelvin rating of 14000 and up will have some light in this spectrum also and will have a slightly blueish hue.Generally speaking,the higher the kelvin rating the bluer the light.

 

Do you already have corals in there???

 

no i have no corals yet

 

Can I add a question to this?

If you use a clip on, how would you suppliment with other lights? Someone suggested I get the Viper clip on, but how would I add any actinics?

 

Bonnie,you might be able to use a seperate strip light with actinics but it will probably make the tank appear cluttered.The strip light also might block some of the light from the halide,not good.The advantages of having seperate actinics are having the ability to turn them on first to "ramp up" the lighting and leave them on after turning off the halide to "ramp down".Alot of people also enjoy viewing their tanks with actinics only as they really bring out the colors of the corals and fish.These are nice advantages but not really necessary,the halide fixture with a 14000k or higher bulb will work just fine,the higher the kelvin rating the bluer your tank will look.