# Noonburst Lighting and Split Photoperiod



## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

I am curious as to peoples' experiences with employing Noonburst lighting vs Split Photoperiod.
Specifically, what did you observe happened with respect to plant and algae growth when you employed one or both of these methods vs regular lighting/photoperiod? Was plant growth and algae control better or the same? How did the two methods Noonburst and Photoperiod compare? Did one give you better plant growth and algae control than the other. Thanks.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

I'm currently using the noonburst method. It seems to work really well and does cut down some on algae, not to mention the electric bill.  I'd stray away from a split photoperiod. You'll only end up confusing the fish and plants. They like a natural light cycle just like us humans do.


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

AaronT said:


> I'm currently using the noonburst method. It seems to work really well and does cut down some on algae, not to mention the electric bill.  I'd stray away from a split photoperiod. You'll only end up confusing the fish and plants. They like a natural light cycle just like us humans
> do.


O.k. thanks. Now, say that I want to experiment with the noon burst method on my 40 gallon tank. I currently have 2 55 watt bright kits shining over it. Total photoperiod is 8 hours. What would you recommend as a good way to implement noon burst. I imagine that I would need to purchase additional lighting. What would you recommend as additional watts for the noon burst and duration wise going from regular to noon burst to regular. Many thanks.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

A good way to use the lights you have is to run one of the 55 watt kits for the entire light period, and I would make that 10 hours. Then turn on the second 55 watt kit for the middle 3 or 4 hours of that interval. You don't really need any more light.


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

hoppycalif said:


> A good way to use the lights you have is to run one of the 55 watt kits for the entire light period, and I would make that 10 hours. Then turn on the second 55 watt kit for the middle 3 or 4 hours of that interval. You don't really need any more light.


Thanks for clarifying that hoppycalif, I assumed that I would need to purchase more lighting to provide the higher intensity to mimick a noonburst. To be honest with you, I really did want to add any more lighting. When I upgraded from 90 watts of Cra*py lighting to the 110 watt bright kit, I went from no algae to every kind of algae imaginable(string, beard, green dot, etc., you name it). I should have probably eased into the increased intensity slowly. Now, I have a mess to clean up. The only other problem is that I have one power cord running both 55 watts tubes. So, I imagine I would have to modify wiring to accomodate this type of setup.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

*Re: Noon burst Lighting and Split Photo period*

Hi Homer

Wouldn't you need two ballasts (like the Workhorse 3 ballasts) and another power cord to light each bulb separately? You might want another on/off switch too.

Left C


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Yes, you do need separate ballasts and on/off switches in order to implement the noon burst. I run mine at half capacity for the full 10 hours and 5 hours of full capacity in the middle of the day.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I ran my AH Supply 2X 55 watt kit for about a month with only one bulb operating - the other one was broken. It worked fine and continued to work fine when I replaced the bad bulb. So, I started wondering if it would be ok to put a switch in the power line to one of the bulbs so it would be possible to do a noon burst. I never tried it, being chicken! I'm also not at all sure that the electric power in that line is "switchable" - it may be at high voltage and and I think it is much higher frequency as well. If so, it would probably be cheaper and a lot safer to get a new or two new ballasts.


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