How long do you leave your aquarium lights on for?

[Squidman]

I try to make it 8 hrs but usually its more like 12 hours.

 

[Scotty001]

i have 3x25w lights on my tank which are on timer, howerver i ony use 2 lights that come on at 10:00 and off at 22:00, when the main lights shut down the moonlight kit kicks in. some say running the moonlights at 6v is ok but i have 2x 30cm cold cathode tubes which make it rather bright and dont think the fish get much sleep so knocked it down to 3.5v and its just enough to break the surface and just see the outline of the bogwood at the bottom of the tank. all the fish seem happy with this and the plants seem to be doing ok too.

 

[jourdy288]

I think for planted tanks 8-12 hours is good.

I have mine on from 10.00 - 22.30 all on timers

Same here for the fry tank, the other tank goes off at, um *Calculating Time*, 19:30 or so.

 

[jourdy288]

Correction to what I said, it's really 19:13.

 

[Bungy]

I read a post a while ago about a chap who was having problems with algae blooms - his light were on quite a lot so he limited to 2 x 4 hour spells throughout the day and evening using a timer - thus not allowing the aglae to grow. The theory being that algae needs at least 4 hours constant light to flourish - this cured his problem.

Additional light from sunlight entering the tank during the day will of course add to the amount of light your plants absorb daily, aiding photosynthasis but bear in mind that algae may also develop hence it is better to site your tank away from direct sunlight. I guess a suck it and see approach is best - stick with what works for your plants/tank. My lights go on when we come home from work around 5.30 ish and off at bedtime some 6/7 hours later. Seems ok so far.

 

[northy]

Hi i usually leave it on all day untill night and then turn it off or i leave it on all night and leave it off in the day that way you dont burn the light out or give the fish to much brighness.

 

[kribensis12]

I turn it on when i wake up( around 9:00) when i dont have school, an dturn it off at around 11:30pm