Lighting Timer And Healthy Fish

[mnlymandan]

everything i have read suggests that you put your tank lights on a timer and put it on roughly 12 hour cycles.  some things i read also suggest varying that based on actual daylight hours in the region your fish or plants are from.  my question is this... how important is this?  right now this is what i have been doing but my wife asked if she could turn the tank lights on in the mourning (about 5:30am) because she likes looking at the fish while she gets ready; i like watching the fish at night, before i go to bed (i usually go to bed between 10:00 and 11:00 pm)  obviously i don't want the light on 18 hours a day but could i set the timer to come on for 3 hours in the morning and another 9 hours in the afternoon/evening?  i would like to do this very much but i do not want to stress the fish out.  any input would be much appreciated.  thanks!

 

[RRaquariums]

Dose the tank get any natural light during the day from a window or something like that?

 

[mnlymandan]

no, the tank does not get any natural light.  it is in a windowless basement.

Dose the tank get any natural light during the day from a window or something like that?

sorry i forgot to quote prior to posting.

 

[RRaquariums]

Ok sorry I forgot to ask but what fish do you have in it?

 

[mnlymandan]

Ok sorry I forgot to ask but what fish do you have in it?

i have 1 three spot gourami, 6 rosy barbs, 6 bronze cory, and 5 Bolivian Rams. (plus a few snails).  it is a moderately planted 55 gallon tank fyi.
it looks like this:

 

[RRaquariums]

Well those are all pretty hardy fish so I'd say give the split lighting times a try and see how it goes if you notice the plants going down hill or the fish getting sick then you would go back to normal lighting but I don't see why it wouldn't work

 

[mnlymandan]

Thanks for the advise! i think im gonna try it!

 

[RRaquariums]

Good luck and let us know how it works out

 

[mnlymandan]

Good luck and let us know how it works out

Will do!

 

[Lunar Jetman]

12 hours is too long to have the lights on really, You should be looking at 6-8 hours tops or you'll end up with excessive algae growth.

 

[daizeUK]

I agree with Lunar Jetman, 12 hours is usually too long, depending on the strength of your lighting.
 
Your plants will not recognise lighting periods of less than 4 hours so your best split would be 4 hours in the morning and 4 in the evening.

 

[mnlymandan]

12 hours is too long to have the lights on really, You should be looking at 6-8 hours tops or you'll end up with excessive algae growth.

 
i did not know that. will that be enough light for my plants though?  i have baby tears, amazon swords, micro swards, anubias, and frog bit.

I agree with Lunar Jetman, 12 hours is usually too long, depending on the strength of your lighting.
 
Your plants will not recognise lighting periods of less than 4 hours so your best split would be 4 hours in the morning and 4 in the evening.

 Thanks for the tip, That is interesting.  I wounder why that is?

 

[daizeUK]

My understanding is that photosynthesis has a bit of a 'charge up' time before the process can run at an optimal rate.  Less than four hours wastes this 'charge up' time and doesn't leave the plant enough time to get some proper photosynthesis done.
 
Algae, on the other hand, can utilise much shorter periods of light and would take advantage of a 3-hour lighting session.
 
Let the algae be your guide - if there is algae then cut the lighting back.  For a newly setup tank it's best to limit light even more, perhaps 5-6 hours to discourage algae.
 
Your tank looks really nice by the way!

 

[l_l_l]

What I do is put my lights on for 2 hours in the morning, and then 6 hours for the evening.

 

[mnlymandan]

My understanding is that photosynthesis has a bit of a 'charge up' time before the process can run at an optimal rate.  Less than four hours wastes this 'charge up' time and doesn't leave the plant enough time to get some proper photosynthesis done.
 
Algae, on the other hand, can utilise much shorter periods of light and would take advantage of a 3-hour lighting session.
 
Let the algae be your guide - if there is algae then cut the lighting back.  For a newly setup tank it's best to limit light even more, perhaps 5-6 hours to discourage algae.
 
Your tank looks really nice by the way!

Thanks! (for the info and the complement!)