# split lighting schedule



## tomztinywetone (May 4, 2013)

hi folks, tank is in its third week and everything is going well. I have some green algae on the glass but to be expected. These Finnex Leds are powerful. Some of my plants have grown over 2 inchs in this short time. Now for my question. Can i split the lighting schedule. I feed the fish in the morning and if the light is left on that would be 10 hrs before i get home. I was thinking 6am thru 10am, then 4 thru 8pm, giving a total of 8hrs. More than that and i will have algae problems.


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## lonedove55 (Jan 25, 2012)

Yep, I'm currently trying the split lighting schedule myself. I've had problems with brown diatoms like... forever! Going to try this for awhile to see if it makes a difference in the algae as I've tried cutting my lights back to about 6 hrs per day and that is not working. Anyone else have their lights on a split schedule? FYI, I found an online site that suggested this as algae seems to really dislike_ not_ having any light in the middle of the daylight cycle.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Split lighting schedules are completely acceptable. I've heard unconfirmed rumors that erratic photoperiods can actually help mitigate algae production, as plants (being larger organisms than cellular algae) have a better ride-through capability during lights-out.


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## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

I set the timer to have the lights on for 15 mins in the morning, so i can see the fish before I leave the home, and feed. Then the bulk of light on is when I get home, so i can see the fish when I'm home.



Do you have a tank build thread? I'd like to see more details of your tank.


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## lonedove55 (Jan 25, 2012)

That's good to know Gizmo. Yeah, I finally found the site where I read that...Help! There is Algae everywhere. Figured, what the heck, might as well try it and hopefully plants won't suffer.


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