I'm a bit baffled by some lighting recommendations...

[jaylach]

Some here say that you have to have a timer on your tank lights and I just don't understand why.

If our fish were living in the wild would they not experience different lighting on a daily basis? I mean some days are sunny and others overcast. At night there may be a new moon or full. These are just two examples of natural lighting not following a strict pattern. I am pretty consistant but may miss now and then by 15-30 minutes. What is the big deal?

I'm really interested and would appreciate that responses not be overly technical. Layman terms would suite me best on this topic.

 

[sharkweek178]

I have ADHD so without a timer there is no way I would be able to manually turn the lights on and off on any kind of a consistent schedule. I could be into a video game and suddenly remember that I was supposed to turn the lights off two hours ago.
I might not open the curtains at the same time every morning or I might turn the room lights off at a different time. That will be my equivalent to clouds or moon phases. But the tank lights will be consistent like the sun rising and setting.

 

[Boundava]

Unfortunately our tanks are not natural water systems. The availability of nutrients in natural waters is much different than what is in your tank. By limiting the light you also limit the growth of detrimental algae. A recommended photo period for most plants is anywhere from 6:00 to 8 hours. If you have a higher tech system with carbon dioxide and fertilizers you can do an eight to 12 hour. But it's always better to start with less light and see how the algae growth progresses from there.

Technically the lighting is for your benefit and for any plants that you have in the tank. Fish don't need light, they'll get enough lighting from your rooms lighting. There is really no benefit to the fish by having or not having lighting. That is unless your room is in a dark cave with no windows, lol.

 

[jaylach]

I have ADHD so without a timer there is no way I would be able to manually turn the lights on and off on any kind of a consistent schedule. I could be into a video game and suddenly remember that I was supposed to turn the lights off two hours ago.
I might not open the curtains at the same time every morning or I might turn the room lights off at a different time. That will be my equivalent to clouds or moon phases. But the tank lights will be consistent like the sun rising and setting.

That is understandable but a specific case, not in general. still thank you as I never considered such cases.

Unfortunately our tanks are not natural water systems. The availability of nutrients in natural waters is much different than what is in your tank. By limiting the light you also limit the growth of detrimental algae. A recommended photo period for most plants is anywhere from 6:00 to 8 hours. If you have a higher tech system with carbon dioxide and fertilizers you can do an eight to 12 hour. But it's always better to start with less light and see how the algae growth progresses from there.

Technically the lighting is for your benefit and for any plants that you have in the tank. Fish don't need light, they'll get enough lighting from your rooms lighting. There is really no benefit to the fish by having or not having lighting. That is unless your room is in a dark cave with no windows, lol.

I can see algae control but I have no such issue and my plants are very healthy to the point that I'm constantly trimming. So, if not for the fish, why do I need a timer? Actually I DO have a timer that is not in use that I used to use for my bird cage but it is one of those cases where it is like a watch you can't remember how to set.

 

[Boundava]

As explained it would be to hold a photoperiod for the plants. If you are not using it or don't need it to control a photo then you don't need a timer.
There is no rule that says that you have to have a timer if you have a light on your tank. It's just a personal preference to make it a little easier for people to control the photo period on their tank.

Many of the new LED lights have timers built in so you don't need to purchase an additional timer. Whether or not you use the timer is also personal preference.

Again there is no rule that says you have to have a timer...

 

[jaylach]

As explained it would be to hold a photoperiod for the plants. If you are not using it or don't need it to control a photo then you don't need a timer.
There is no rule that says that you have to have a timer if you have a light on your tank. It's just a personal preference to make it a little easier for people to control the photo period on their tank.

Many of the new LED lights have timers built in so you don't need to purchase an additional timer. Whether or not you use the timer is also personal preference.

Again there is no rule that says you have to have a timer...

Fair enough. Actually I sort of do have a timer named Terabit, my cockatiel. He and the tank are on the same light schedule. Trust me in that if I'm 15-20 minutes or so late in turning lights on/off he lets me know about it.

From other threads here that brought up timers I got the impression it was not just for plants but also the fish. Quite possible that I just read things wrong.

 

[Essjay]

Byron can explain things better, but fish expect the lights to turn on and off at the same time every day. In the wild, especially in the tropics, the sun rises and sets at more or less the same time every day, though at more northerly and southerly latitudes days get longer and shorter through the year.

Because fish don't have eyelids and can be startled by the tank light turning on or off in a dark room, it is recommended that the room be light (daylight or room light) for at least half an hour before the tank lights turn on and half an hour after they turn off, a sort of dawn and dusk effect.

 

[seangee]

Fish, like most living organisms, do have circadian rhythms (sleep cycles). Studies have shown that in most tropical fish the sleep period needs to be at least 8 hours. In the wild this is governed by sunrise and sunset as fish don't have watches. In tanks with lights we provide the triggers for day and night. In my tanks sunset happens at around my bedtime because I like to watch my fish in the evenings. I can't say for my fish but I know the effect that jet lag, or an all night party, has on me so I tend to go to bed at a similar time every night and wake up at a similar time, but the time I wake up (without using an alarm), tends to be earlier in summer. The studies do suggest that the sleep period requires near total darkness - sorry I don't have citations.

Thinking about it the length of the dark period may also be a trigger for seasonal behaviour. I do know that my shrimp breed prolifically in summer and not at all over winter. The only variable is the amount of incident light reaching the tank. The tank light cycle is not changed. I even change their clocks twice a year so that their sunset stays in sync with my bed time. The shrimp tank is in a room with blackout blinds. These are not total blackout but the room is fairly dim during the day so as far as I can tell those extra few hours of dim light are how they know its summer. Just my observation - I have no idea if there is any research on that

 

[Byron]

As @Essjay and @seangee correctly mention, the issue is not the intensity of the light throughout the day but the periods of daylight and darkness. These significantly affect fish, more than plants. And there is no "moonlight" in the majority of tropical watercourses, except the largest (widest) rivers, and in those our aquarium fish live along the banks not in open water. I cover this in an article I wrote several years ago, here:

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[TwoTankAmin]

So, if you never go out at night with friends to party, to see a movie etc. If you never go away for a weekend or a vacation, then you can act as the timer. But if you are not a homebody, a timer makes this a brainless chore, unless the timer breaks.

At my peak, I had 13 planted tanks in two buildings and 4 rooms. I will stick with my timers because it means I never worry about turning lights on and off. If I am sick in bed, the lights still go one and off. When it is poker night of fish club might, the lights still go off.

Next, I have tanks in my bedroom and I am often up late at night. All of my non-planted tanks are for plecos and they have a ton of cover and caves. The fish are able to get out of the ambient room light with ease. The same applies to my heavily planted tanks. The fish all disappear into the bushes at night when th tank lights go out.

Finally, they now make lighting that you can program. You can create seasonal lighting where the hours of illumination change. You can simulate sunrise and sunset too. But then you will have to pay a few $100s for such set-ups. The most I have ever spent on lighting was for the power compacts which are not so popular any more. I had lots of light over my pressurized co2 added tank and I also ran the photo-period longer than over my low tech planted tanks.

 

[sharkweek178]

So, if you never go out at night with friends to party, to see a movie etc. If you never go away for a weekend or a vacation, then you can act as the timer. But if you are not a homebody, a timer makes this a brainless chore, unless the timer breaks.

At my peak, I had 13 planted tanks in two buildings and 4 rooms. I will stick with my timers because it means I never worry about turning lights on and off. If I am sick in bed, the lights still go one and off. When it is poker night of fish club might, the lights still go off.

Next, I have tanks in my bedroom and I am often up late at night. All of my non-planted tanks are for plecos and they have a ton of cover and caves. The fish are able to get out of the ambient room light with ease. The same applies to my heavily planted tanks. The fish all disappear into the bushes at night when th tank lights go out.

Finally, they now make lighting that you can program. You can create seasonal lighting where the hours of illumination change. You can simulate sunrise and sunset too. But then you will have to pay a few $100s for such set-ups. The most I have ever spent on lighting was for the power compacts which are not so popular any more. I had lots of light over my pressurized co2 added tank and I also ran the photo-period longer than over my low tech planted tanks.

I do something similar with my very affordable hygger lights. I start them on at a very low setting and then work the way up in brightness over a few hours. Until I get to about 50% which is the highest I have it set for and that goes for about 4 hours and then works back down in brightness at the same rate it went up. The lighting ends the day on a very low setting. That way the fish aren't jolted by lights abruptly turning on and off.

 

[jaylach]

So, if you never go out at night with friends to party, to see a movie etc. If you never go away for a weekend or a vacation, then you can act as the timer. But if you are not a homebody, a timer makes this a brainless chore, unless the timer breaks.

Pretty much that is me. Unless it is really important I do not drive at night or go out in general. With my eye issues street lights make night driving difficult but that has nothing to do with the thread...

 

[Back in the fold]

Pretty much that is me. Unless it is really important I do not drive at night or go out in general. With my eye issues street lights make night driving difficult but that has nothing to do with the thread...

I haven’t been able to drive at night for a couple years mostly because of the street lights , as you mentioned , but also that hideous blinding glare from the headlights on new cars. My eyes are getting really bad and I figure legal blindness is coming for me in the not too distant future.
Now to aquarium lighting . I use a timer on the one tank of my eight that has lighting only for convenience. That one tank has lighting only because it is near the floor and I have a devil of a time seeing into it. I have a large north facing window in my fish room and I grow Java Moss , Java Fern , Duckweed and Salvinia without artificial lighting. Natural light seems to be the only light that doesn’t kill my eyes. I really don’t like the glare off this computer screen and I have curtailed my TV watching considerably. It sure is great getting old.

 

[FranciscoB]

In addition to all the arguments pro and con regarding timers (I use them but will not press them upon others), there is yet another good reason to have a timer-

In many light setups, new and old, the on/off switches are among the most common things that eventually fail, often rather soon. Having a timer eliminates the need of manually turning them on and off, thus avoiding that kind of damage. In old fluorescent sets (which I still like and have some), the switches often fail before anything else. In new LED sets, the switches are so cheap (cheaply made) that they also fail, but replacing them is not as easy or cheap.

 

[sharkweek178]

In addition to all the arguments pro and con regarding timers (I use them but will not press them upon others), there is yet another good reason to have a timer-

In many light setups, new and old, the on/off switches are among the most common things that eventually fail, often rather soon. Having a timer eliminates the need of manually turning them on and off, thus avoiding that kind of damage. In old fluorescent sets (which I still like and have some), the switches often fail before anything else. In new LED sets, the switches are so cheap (cheaply made) that they also fail, but replacing them is not as easy or cheap.

That makes sense. The switch would be the part with the most physical wear and tear on them.