light timer( light schedule)

just brought my first light fixture woot.


now i have been told to put them on a light schedule and to do that i need to buy a light timer?? is this true

if so what is a light timer? and how much do they cost.

i got a t5 36inchs with 4 bulbs
2 ATI B+
1 GE 6500k Daylight
1 ATI Purple Plus

does anyone know a good schedule for these types of light.

 

dellyjoe

has the light unit you have got 2 x plugs?

if so , all you need are standard plug in timers which plug into the mains and the plugs from your light unit plug into them

provided you have 2 plugs, you can then set 2 of the tubes to come on at a given time and go off 10 hours later
and the other 2 come on 1 hour after the 1st set and go off one hour before

your light selections make it difficult for me to indicate which lamps to sequence

many people would have gone 2 x daylight 10k - 14k which are white coloured lamps
and 2 x Actinic, which are a blue lamp - and then the blue lamps would have been on 1 hour before and stay on 1 hour longer after the 2 white lamps have gone off

Steve

 

A timer is something like this. Having the consistency of a timer is helpful in maintaining a tank properly.

Program it the way Steve said.

 

Run the B+ on dusk/dawn setting(the longer one).

 

Mke sure you get the heavy duty 15 amp appliance timers like this one:
GE - Lamp and Appliance Timer ( NEW ) - Listing # 7944473

They will be designed for 3 prong grounded plugs and have heavier contacts in them to handle the loads.

Staggering the lighting as already mentioned gives the tank a nice effect but isn't something absolutely that has to be done, I do prefer it that way myself though purely for asthetics. Make sure you set the times so the lights are on when you will be home for your viewing pleasure. Just because the sun comes up at 6 AM and sets at 6 PM doesn't mean you must match that. If you get home at 3 PM have them come on at noon and go off at 10 PM or whatever so you can enjoy the view!

 

That link didn't work for me. Here's another pic of a timer like mine. It plugs into the strip and then your device plugs into the side of the timer.

 

Good point. Timer I pictured is the one I use for my ATO setup.

 

+1 on AZ DesertRat

one of the greatest advantages of the timer is that you dont have to manually turn lights on, just before you leave home for work, school etc and then manually turn at least 2 of them off when you get home from said distraction

Steve

 

I like my lights to be on for a couple hours before I get home from work so the corals are all opened up and happy when I get home. I usually get home at 3 so the timers are set for like 12:30 and 1:00 to come on. It makes it nice since the polyps are extended and I can feed a little phyto and Cyclopeeze and watch things go crazy, I never get tired of looking at my tanks! I even keep an assortment of flashlights next to the tanks for night viewing, its amazing the things that come out an night and the new LED flashlights with the colored bulbs really bring the colors out.

 

ok so first i need to put the

so run the
1 GE 6500k Daylight
1 ATI Purple Plus for 10 hours
and then for one hour run the
2 ATI B+