Aqarium Light...

[Becca]

Stupid question, maybe, but you'll never know unless you ask.

Ok, heard a rumor and can't seem to verify it. Does my aqarium light being turned ON affect my tank's health? Ammonia levels, nitrite, nitrate or algea? I have no algea growth, but the past couple of days, I've had the light on quite a bit. Is there a rule or a guideline to follow about tank lighting procedures?

 

[StevieJack]

Ok some none official advice

I don’t think it has anything to do with the Ammonia, nitrITE or nitrATE levels but yes maybe the algae. Sorry don’t know much about that.

I have read (very little) about fish sleeping or resting habits. Not sure but the lights possibly could disturbed that if left on more than ten hours a day.

Speaking of sleep I am late myself, good luck!

Stevie

 

[Gavmoore23]

the tank lights are usually best left on for about 10-12 hours a day. this simulates the natural sunlight. Algae will be affected, as to much light will produce green algae, and not enough light will mean you get brown algae. The fish will also appreciate a strict set pattern with the time you put the lights on, if you keep changing the times you put your lights on or for how long you leave them on, your fish might get upset. the best thing to do is get a timer for your lights, these are inexpensive and make life a lot easier. HTH

 

[smithrc]

I run both our tanks in a pattern that helps stop algae growth...

they
come on at 8:00 - off at 13:00
come on at 18:00 - off at 23:00

the break in the middle is meant to dissrupt the algaes growth without effecting the plants and fish. our plants are doing fine on this as are our fish.

the algae isn't bad either.

 

[bunjiweb]

Maybe I have mine on too much then...

I turn mine on at between 8 - 10 in the morning (depending when i go to work) and they turn off at between 10.30 and 11.30 pm usually!

Is this too much light or will it be ok?

Going to get a timer for my new tank i think.

Ben

 

[Gavmoore23]

That is pushing it a little bit. i would say 12hrs max. a timer is definitly a good buy, it lets you create a set routine.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

If you have no live plants and decent ambient lighting in the room during the day then you don't need lighting at all. The fish require a day/night cycle, but any lighting will do the trick, not just aquarium lighting.

One way to control algae is to not use the aquarium lights at all except when home to observe the tank. I've used this method before and it works great. Naturally if the tank is in the basement or some other room that remains dark through the day, aquarium lighiting becomes much more important.

There is no right answer, but the average day length in the tropics is 12 hours, and this is perfectly suitable for our aquariums as well.

 

[pendragon]

One more caveat about lighting, just for the sake of completeness.

If you only have fish, lighting is not so much an issue, though the fish do appreciate a regular light-dark cycle that emulates the day and night transitions. I don't think intensity of the light is terribly important, any reasonable amount will do.

If you have (or plan to add) live plants in your tank, the issue of lighting in general takes on a whole different world of importance. Not only do the plants require sufficient periods of light, but sufficient intensity of light as well.

Just wanted to say that so that it didn't go without being said. When I began, nobody told me that live plants required much more light than the light that came with my aquarium would emit. Much, much more. Nobody told me until after I had put a bunch of live plants in the tank, anyway. Then I had to upgrade my lighting system, the cost of which was not insignificant.

With regard to algea, light is definitely a factor. As you increase either the duration or intensity of light, or both, the environment becomes more condusive to algae growth.

pendragon!

 

[Becca]

Thanks all for your info. It's helped. I've been only turning the light on when I get home from work (around 5:30 or so) and turning it off when I head in for bed (around 11:30) - that's 6 hours, seems like the fishies might appreciate a bit more light, so I'll get a nice timer to give them a full day, broken down into two parts. 8:00 - 1:00, then 5:00 - 10:00. (or something like that.)

 

[Shizat]

Also the combination of leaving your lights on for a long period of time and high nitrates will create a lot of algae.

 

[Nidge]

My planted tank has the lights on for fifteen hours aday, i have no algae problem, i have fast growing plants though and i think that keeps the algae down too (they compete for the same food etc.)

 

[tmlhaus]

We just turn ours off at night when we're going to bed. The fish need their down time too. When I turn on the light in the am they all act like PIGS, not fish, because they know THE LIGHT means feeding time

 

[Yenko]

I leave my lights on for 10 hours a day, and my fish and plants are fine. I have extrememly good plant growth; One of my plants (amazon sword) gained 1.5" in 24 hours!

 

[canarsie11]

I leave my lights on for 10 hours a day, and my fish and plants are fine. I have extrememly good plant growth; One of my plants (amazon sword) gained 1.5" in 24 hours!

WOW!!!