Aquarium Lighting

[GerardK]

what is the optimum length of time to have the lights on. Should you switch them off at night

 

[rdd1952]

It depends on whether you have live plants or not. If you have live plants, probably 10 to 12 hours a day. I have mine on for 10 hours a day, 4 in the morning and 6 in the evening, basically the times we are most likely to be home to view them. If you don't have live plants, you really only need them on when you're at home to view them. The fish don't need the lights as they get plenty of ambient light during the day.