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Lighting Siestas and Dual Siestas


Streetwise
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I have a Finnex stingray on a timer for my 20g Long. It is on from 7am to 1pm, off from 1 to 5, then on again until 9.  I've thought about getting a fancier light just so I can have the ramp-up and down feature but haven't pulled the trigger.

I feel like I am getting good plant growth... on plants that grow well for me, AKA swords and hygrophila. Brazilian pennywort continues to quit and even Java moss seems to stand still. At the same time, I don't have terrible algae--just "deep sigh" algae levels, mostly the dark kind that looks like short frizzly hair on the edges of my swords and valisneria. And I am an over-feeder, working to reduce that.

All that said, would those who understand the science better e.g. @Streetwiserecommend that I shorten my siesta to have more light hours per day, divide up my "on" hours differently, or add another whole siesta and light period?

I would like to learn to optimize this light bc even if I buy a fancier one for this tank, I will be using the Stingray somewhere...

 

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@PineSong I have my rack, a 4', two separate 10 gallons, and 2 pico tanks on the siesta method. 

The science/research that Dr Walstad shared tested CO2 & pH levels in the tanks just before lights were turned on, and then every hour after the lights turned on, for a 24 hour cycle. 

She found that tanks with passive CO2 exchange achieved maximum aqueous saturation of CO2 3 to 4 hours after the lights turned off, depending  on how heavily  the tank is stocked (that's the science behind the siesta period of 3 - 4 hours).

She also discovered, depending on how heavily the tank was planted, plants absorbed their maximum amount of CO2 between 4 and 5 hours of light exposure, and the tank remained depleted of CO2 until the lights went out. So that's the science behind the length of photoperiods.

Obviously, this is not a one size fits all. There are variables in fish activity (more activity yields more CO2), in addition to size & quantity, and same variables in the plants.

My pico tanks grow cyanobacteria and blackbeard algae if they have the lights on for more than 4 hours at a time. 

The plants hardly grow, if they don't have at least 9 to 10 hours of light, and the terrestrial plants want 12 hours.....

So I have the lights for the picos on a timer:

On at 6 am, off at 9 am, on at 1 pm, off at 4 pm, on at 7 pm, off at 11 pm. These 2 tanks have been the absolute hardest for me to tune in and balanced.

My bedroom tanks I posted the timer for my 10 gallon Walstad tank. The aquasky is the weakest, PAR and lumen wise, of **any** of my lights. So the Walstad starts ramping up, slowly waking everyone up, and the rest of the lights don't come on until 8:30 am.

At 5,000 lumens, the tanks just don't need the lights on as long, so the shoplights for everyone else are only on 8:30 to noon, and 6 pm to 10 pm. It took me 2 years in our new place to fine tune the shoplights for the tanks, and I killed a lot of plants in the process.😬

The 4' tank also has a 4' 5,000 lumen shoplight, and I had the lights/fish/plants balanced... until the endlers got to their 8th gen, and my submersed plants finally started hitting emersed growth.

To outcompete the algae, I have actually had to *increase* my photo period from two 4 hour stretches, to two 5 hour stretches with a 4 hour break in between. 

Which increased the amount of ferts needed.....

TL/DR: There is science to explain why it works, but none of the science was tested on our specific tanks, so we need to listen to our plants, our fish, and our tanks, and our own needs, and adjust accordingly. 

I forgot to include the pH information. 

Even in tanks that don't use CO2 systems, pH is lowest right before lights turn on, and slowly increases as plants use CO2. When the lights turn off, pH slowly drops, as water holds more CO2.

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On 9/30/2021 at 1:22 AM, Torrey said:

To outcompete the algae, I have actually had to *increase* my photo period from two 4 hour stretches, to two 5 hour stretches with a 4 hour break in between. 

 

Thank you, Torrey for that explanation. It sounds like I am on the right track, but maybe would benefit from increasing my photo periods by an hour as you did. I am trying to reduce my overfeeding now that the fry in the tank are old enough to skip meals and maybe also increase water changes, in order to reduce that frizzly algae.

 

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On 10/2/2021 at 6:21 PM, PineSong said:

Thank you, Torrey for that explanation. It sounds like I am on the right track, but maybe would benefit from increasing my photo periods by an hour as you did. I am trying to reduce my overfeeding now that the fry in the tank are old enough to skip meals and maybe also increase water changes, in order to reduce that frizzly algae.

 

I wish there was a hard and fast rule to follow, to make it less daunting. 

I only have enough patience for about 2 weeks, and take photos to compare because my memory is faulty just after a day😳😅

If you make a change, try to limit to only 1 change, and give it 2 weeks to see results. Compare your pictures.

Most of my tanks needed less time with the lights on, so that was my initial test.

After 2 weeks, more plants were melting back and algae was worse, so I increased the light back to previous parameters, and the following week boosted by another hour. 

 

It worked🤷‍♂️

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On 10/2/2021 at 9:47 PM, Torrey said:

I wish there was a hard and fast rule to follow, to make it less daunting. 

I only have enough patience for about 2 weeks, and take photos to compare because my memory is faulty just after a day😳😅

If you make a change, try to limit to only 1 change, and give it 2 weeks to see results. Compare your pictures.

Pictures are a great idea. It's very hard to compare gradual changes from memory.

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Cleaned glass in the Low Row tonight (the tiny 2.1 gallon has bad algae issues, this will be an unfair test on this little tank) and switched the light timing for a 4 hours on, 5 hour siesta, 4 hours on.  Will do normal water changes tomorrow (except extra on the tiny cube) then let everything settle and take pics.

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  • 1 month later...

@Streetwise I am having great success with my dual light period and single siesta. I’ve tweaked it to 8-1 on 1-4 off 4-6 on for the winter. I always try to lengthen and shorten my photo periods with the seasons. I was worried how it would affect the siesta because winters prior to siestas with shorter light my growth would slow drastically. So far with the siesta addition my growth has not slowed this year. I’m very pleased. 

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@StreetwiseMy lights are low tech manual dim 5 settings. I use natural sunlight morning ramp up is sun up. Afternoon sun is dimmest in the room so I click down 2 settings every 15 minutes to wind tap down to siesta then flip my light upside down as a grow light for pothos.  The sunlight brightens through the window to ramp back up then night wind down is the same except when I’m on the lowest setting I turn the room light on for 30 minutes with the light then shut the light off. I leave the room light on an additional hour after. I don’t know how to simulate that with your tech light but I’m sure you do 😁

Edited by Guppysnail
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@Streetwise  I use different feed schedules for each tank. No 2 are alike. I base it on the what fry are in each tank their age and their requirements. All tanks have a veggie at all times for snails and baby pleco and mom n dad pleco. Main feedings in the morning are 30 minutes after lights are on full. Then tiny bits of fry food at necessary intervals then repashy or wafers 30 minutes before lights out. The community and mom n dad pleco with CPD gets their food 1/2 morning at 830 and 1/2 @ 5pm. 

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On 11/17/2021 at 6:49 PM, Streetwise said:

My settings with three lighting periods and dual siestas have been really stable, but I am thinking of testing a setup with two lighting periods, and a longer siesta.

So siestas don’t affect plant growth?  I have the Fluval Mega Flex tank and have been using the included Aquasky light.  I was previously using a siesta of two 5 hour light periods, but noticed some stunted plant growth.  I recently switched to a 12 hour light period without siesta, and dimmed intensities.  I know have a Blackbeard and staghorn/hair algae problem on some plants.  Water parameters check out good, not sure what to do anymore with light settings.  My days start early mornings at 6:30am and the lights completely off at 19:30.

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On 11/18/2021 at 10:40 PM, AquaDude said:

So siestas don’t affect plant growth?  I have the Fluval Mega Flex tank and have been using the included Aquasky light.  I was previously using a siesta of two 5 hour light periods, but noticed some stunted plant growth.  I recently switched to a 12 hour light period without siesta, and dimmed intensities.  I know have a Blackbeard and staghorn/hair algae problem on some plants.  Water parameters check out good, not sure what to do anymore with light settings.  My days start early mornings at 6:30am and the lights completely off at 19:30.

I use a minimum of one siesta for every one of my tanks now, because the growth improved, and algae decreased.

In my bedroom, the aquasky provides the ramp up and ramp down, and the rest of the tanks in my room are on an old fashioned peg timer and come on shortly after the aquasky is fully ramped up.

In my spouse's room, the sun is the ramp up, and the bedside lamp provides the ramp down. 

In the dining room/living room tanks, lights are all on timers, and LEDs provide the ramp up/ramp down, and these tanks have multiple siestas as the lights are only *all* off from 11 pm to 4 am.

The tanks in the front operate on a 5 hours on, 4 hours off, 4 hours on, 5 hours off, 3 hours on, 3 hours off. Plants and fish are happy.

Algae is not so happy, lol

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On 11/20/2021 at 10:29 PM, Torrey said:

I use a minimum of one siesta for every one of my tanks now, because the growth improved, and algae decreased.

In my bedroom, the aquasky provides the ramp up and ramp down, and the rest of the tanks in my room are on an old fashioned peg timer and come on shortly after the aquasky is fully ramped up.

In my spouse's room, the sun is the ramp up, and the bedside lamp provides the ramp down. 

In the dining room/living room tanks, lights are all on timers, and LEDs provide the ramp up/ramp down, and these tanks have multiple siestas as the lights are only *all* off from 11 pm to 4 am.

The tanks in the front operate on a 5 hours on, 4 hours off, 4 hours on, 5 hours off, 3 hours on, 3 hours off. Plants and fish are happy.

Algae is not so happy, lol

I went back to Siestas this weekend.  I programmed two 6 hour periods with a 3 hr break between.  Light intensity mimics that of a summer day.  Hopefully there will be a good chance in the coming weeks 🙂

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  • 2 months later...
On 11/18/2021 at 3:13 PM, Streetwise said:

I am going to test a new schedule on two tanks.

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I know this is an old thread but wondering what the results of your schedule change were? I'm considering upgrading to the Plant 3.0 from a Plant 2.0 and this thread (and your other one) have been full of great information!

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On 2/4/2022 at 7:10 PM, maico996 said:

I know this is an old thread but wondering what the results of your schedule change were? I'm considering upgrading to the Plant 3.0 from a Plant 2.0 and this thread (and your other one) have been full of great information!

My shift to dual siestas has resulted in needing to dose Easy Green 2x a week and I still have 0/0/0 ammonia/nitites/nitrates, so I am starting to dose every other day this week. 

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Snails, fish and plants are all growing beautifully. 

Adding an hour of red light at my bedtime is helping me sleep better, and appears to have stopped the algae growth.

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On 2/4/2022 at 6:10 PM, maico996 said:

I know this is an old thread but wondering what the results of your schedule change were? I'm considering upgrading to the Plant 3.0 from a Plant 2.0 and this thread (and your other one) have been full of great information!

A3A7A1F0-AFA6-4832-A66D-0FB675DA8252.jpeg.575dc775d405e8948f473882ddbaac6e.jpeg

My algae issues have improved significantly, after several trials these are the settings I’ve stuck with.  Plants have grown and  are doing great and fish are happy.  I have also reduced fertilizers to liquid ferts once per week, and root tabs once per month only.

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I am so jealous of the Fluval app lights. I do use the kasa timers and they are fantastic. I have multiple lights on a few tanks so one light goes on then then an hour or two later the second goes on acting as my cheapo "ramp up" function. So many projects and perceived "needs," too little cash! I have always felt that siestas were helpful in the tanks I run them. 

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  • 3 months later...

Hey guys!

I was wondering if someone could talk to me about siestas in regards to their aquarium lighting in planted tanks. My questions also being, is it only beneficial for tanks with CO2? Is the purpose for inhibiting algae or for helping plant growth, perhaps both? Is there a certain time during the lighting schedule to do it? Would it be worth doing in lieu of shortening lighting hours to fight algae? Thanks in advance I’m just curious!

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The purpose is to build up co2. Co2 is in your aquarium whether you inject it or not. The idea is that plants consume all the co2 and then grow less efficiently. By letting the co2 build up again for say 4 hours. You get a bit more out of it. On some borderline cases, it can be an improvement. Most of the time though, people are "optimizing" for the sake of optimizing.

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