AI Prime lunar effect question

[AgentKooper]

I’ve read through a bunch of threads about the lunar settings but haven’t found the answer to my question, so here goes:

My understanding is that with the lunar effect activated, (1) the light automatically will adjust the moonlight program to vary in intensity according to the local lunar cycle, and that (2) the full moon will be at whatever maximum intensity you set, and ramp up to and down from that depending on the phase of the moon throughout the month.

My question is, if I create a moonlight period from, say, 9:00 p.m to 6:00 a.m., with the moonlight set to 25 percent intensity for that whole period, will the light stay on for all nine hours, just varying in intensity from one day to the next between 0 to 25 percent according to the moon phase? Or will it ramp up and down throughout each night? Like if the moon sets at 1:00 a.m. and it’s completely dark outside my house, will my tank be dark too?

 

[blaxsun]

I believe the short answer is yes. I'd probably aim for a shorter moonlight period - say from 9pm to 2am.

 

[mrpontiac80]

I believe the short answer is yes. I'd probably aim for a shorter moonlight period - say from 9pm to 2am.

Yes it stays on. I think I was using 5 or 6% because that’s pretty bright at night. If you use 2% it wouldn’t have enough to utilize the whole lunar cycle. I think AI recommends a minimum iof 5%

 

[AgentKooper]

Thanks guys. That’s what I figured, but I was hoping maybe I was missing something. Would be so much cooler if the effect truly recreated the lunar cycle.

 

[mrpontiac80]

Thanks guys. That’s what I figured, but I was hoping maybe I was missing something. Would be so much cooler if the effect truly recreated the lunar cycle.

It does. When there is a new moon your tank will be no lights.. as the lunar cycle builds up to a full moon, your lights will increase up to the percentage you have set.
As for time the moonlight is lit, that is dependent on your set points. Mine for example was something like an hour after the display lights ramped off, I would have moonlight till around 3 am.

 

[AgentKooper]

It does. When there is a new moon your tank will be no lights.. as the lunar cycle builds up to a full moon, your lights will increase up to the percentage you have set.
As for time the moonlight is lit, that is dependent on your set points. Mine for example was something like an hour after the display lights ramped off, I would have moonlight till around 3 am.

I understand that the AI moonlight intensity will vary with the moon cycle. But the actual moon rises and sets at different times every night. Meaning it could be a full moon outside, but if the moon doesn’t rise until 4:00 am, the sky would be mostly dark outside all night, but the light in my tank would be on at my maximum intensity all night (depending what my time set points are).

My question was, can the AI be set to automatically mirror the moon, such that whenever the moon is in the sky over my neighborhood, the light in my tank will be on, and before actual moonrise or after actual moon set, the tank light would be off? It appears the answer to that is no.

 

[mrpontiac80]

I understand that the AI moonlight intensity will vary with the moon cycle. But the actual moon rises and sets at different times every night. Meaning it could be a full moon outside, but if the moon doesn’t rise until 4:00 am, the sky would be mostly dark outside all night, but the light in my tank would be on at my maximum intensity all night (depending what my time set points are).

My question was, can the AI be set to automatically mirror the moon, such that whenever the moon is in the sky over my neighborhood, the light in my tank will be on, and before actual moonrise or after actual moon set, the tank light would be off? It appears the answer to that is no.

I will say this. Maybe.
I say this because
1. It’s been a while since I’ve used AI on my tank.
2. My lights turn on at 10:30 am and off at 11 pm. When I was running lunar setting, my lights would sometimes kick off earlier than the set point because the lunar cycle would be active. I don’t think it’s an actual mirrored experience but it can change the schedule if it interferes with the times you have it set. I may be mixing this up with a different brand but I’ve only used AI and currently use reefbreeders

 

[AgentKooper]

Thanks all. I'm looking forward to watching it and seeing exactly what it does. I'll post any potentially useful observations.