[SwissCheeseHead]

Right now, I'm running a photo period of 2 hrs on, 4 hours off, 5 hours on for my planted tank with a Finnex planted+. That means during the day, from 6am (when I wake up) from 4pm, when the planted plus turns on for a 5 hr stretch, there is only 2 hours of light to "display" the tank during the day.

I was wondering if anyone has a non-plant-growing light just to display their tank during the day so it can be enjoyed. Can I get a cheaper led light just to display the tank? Ideally, the schedule would be:

8am-10am non-plant LED
10am-noon Planted+
noon-4pm non-plant LED
4pm-9pm Planted+
9pm-8am dark

Does anyone else do this so they can enjoy their tank during the day? Is this a common practice?

 

[ichy]

You may want to rethink that 2hr photoperiod. I believe 3hrs is considered the minimum for optimal plant growth

 

[Jeroen]

I've been wondering about the same thing actually.
Have an RGB led strip that is about 16watts going round nearly the entire top of the tank.
It's a lovely effect and allows me to create sun-rises and -sets of sorts.

I do keep it to a minumum though because I'm not sure about algae growth of of lights like this.
I've got 4hours on 2 off and then 4 on again, in between i usually have a very dim yellow greenish light and at night i run a green light at it's most dim for about an hour or 2 max.

I try to have mostly green since nothing grows on green. (right?)

oh btw i think ichy might be right there ^

 

[SwissCheeseHead]

Didn't know there was a minimum photoperiod. Thanks. I'll consider doing it 3 hrs and 4 hrs then. I'm trying to limit algae growth, hence the short times, and the original question.

I was just thinking about getting a cheap LED strip with not a ton of light just to illuminate the tank so we can enjoy it.

 

[SwissCheeseHead]

I've been wondering about the same thing actually.
Have an RGB led strip that is about 16watts going round nearly the entire top of the tank.
It's a lovely effect and allows me to create sun-rises and -sets of sorts.

I do keep it to a minumum though because I'm not sure about algae growth of of lights like this.
I've got 4hours on 2 off and then 4 on again, in between i usually have a very dim yellow greenish light and at night i run a green light at it's most dim for about an hour or 2 max.

I try to have mostly green since nothing grows on green. (right?)

oh btw i think ichy might be right there ^

How did you attach it to the tank? Is it on the inside of the rim? Are you worried about the water proofness of the strip?

 

[Jeroen]

attached it with cyanoacrylate, simple superglue. not without hitches but seems ok now just make sure it's dry when you do it and let it air out.

I've got a cheap led strip out of china, ip67 means it's cased in a plastic tube so it's watertight, just make sure the connections are outside of the tank all together.

and yes on the inside of the rim.

never run it this color but you get the idea.

 

[seandelevan]

How big is the tank? SAMs club has a LED 48" shop light that easily lights up my 125. It's about 30 bucks. If you don't have a canopy though then nevermind.

 

[steamboatpilot]

I use a 30" planted+ 24/7 on my 90 gallon, it is too small for this tank but provides great mood lighting with its dawn and dusk cycles, then mid day my RayII turns on for plant growth, I am really happy with this set up.
Do you have an algae problem that you are fighting or are you trying to prevent an algae problem? Maybe you could raise your light a few inches from your tank to reduce the light that way instead of the split photoperiod? I am going to try hanging my planted+ from the ceiling on my next tank, they are too much light for me when mounted with the legs they come with.

 

[ichy]

You can get 5M of RGB lights and a remote off evilbay for about $15. They have sticky tape on them. They work well for this kind of stuff.
AND just an FYI...be careful when using superglue's around LEDs. The fumes can frost the lens!