Got my MH/T5 light in need a lighting schedule

I will receive my new bulbs next week the bulbs I purchased are 2x250w Phenoix 14K DE and 2 ATI aquablue special 54w and 2 ATI Aqua Blue Plus which should give my a great amount more light from what I have now which is 2 Aquatic life 24" T5 fixtures. The new Fixture is a 48" Current USA Outer
Orbit 2x250W MH w/ 4x54W T5 HO & 18 Lunar Lights I have to setup timers what light should i have on and how long?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

that will depend on what kinds of corals you have as well. Generally, I like to have the actinics come on 1-2hrs before the main lights which I run anywhere from 8-12hrs depending on the system.

 

Sorry i should have put the coral i have in there now mostly softies but also a cauliflower coral, Chalice which is shaded most the time and my crocea clam, but moving towards SPS

 

my blues come on at 8 am halides at 10 am,halides off at 8 pm blues off at 10 pm, lunars from 10 pm til 3 am but I keep my house very cool so my temp never goes lower than 78 or higher than 80

 

Awesome thank you that is exactly what i was looking for I have a chiller coming also so my tank should stay perfect 78.6.

 

Got the almost all the bulbs in just waiting on the aqua blue special and legs to come in. but here is a shot just setting on the top of my tank.

New light

lots and lots more light lol those spots are snails that haven taken over lol What do you think?

Old lights

 

You don't want to start off with that long of a photoperiod. Start with 8 hours and move up no more than a half hour every other week. You can burn corals easy. They can be adjusted to that schedule easily, but it's not smart to come out the gate that long. Algae can explode and corals can fry.

Start with your current photo period (these lights are an upgrade right?)

Give it a month and see how your corals respond. If they don't start bleaching or melting, then start slowly moving up the photoperiod.

 

Thanks I figure starting out with the 2x250w 14K Phenoix on for 4-5 hrs and supplement with the T5's the LEDs on this new fixture though arent very bright so i might have to DIY replace them with cree LED's.

Yes it is a huge upgrade I had 2 24" 4 bulb T5HO on there and now I will have 2x250w MH and 4 T5's

 

Yeah, you definitely want to be very careful then. Start slow, I think you are smart to start with a 4-5 hour MH schedule. Give it about a month to really see the effects before you start turning it up. After you get a feel for it, every week a small amount or every other week. The tank looks great!!

 

Thank you for the advice, I will be moving to my bigger tank soon to well a few months

My devils hand is taking over my tank though (on the left)