Light On ? How Long?

[leeandstacie]

Hi
My local fish shop rep told me to leave my tank light on for no more than 6 hours per day, which I took as gospel but she didnt know why and then when I asked her is there a minimum time she got kinda distracted and wondered off somewhere which led me to believe I either had some bad ass deoderant or she didnt have a clue.
Please help

Cheers, Lee

 

[WILDER]

Best to turn lights off at night so fish get day time and night time.
I only have them on when i'm in.
They raise temp abit and cause algae.

 

[leeandstacie]

Best to turn lights off at night so fish get day time and night time.
I only have them on when i'm in.
They raise temp abit and cause algae.

Thanks
Are the lights there for a fish health reason or just to make the tank look better ?

Ta muchly

 

[WILDER]

Mainly to make the tank look better.
Some fish don't like the lights if there to bright.
Not sure about the health side. Do a seach plenty of info on the net.

 

[leeandstacie]

Mainly to make the tank look better.
Some fish don't like the lights if there to bright.
Not sure about the health side. Do a seach plenty of info on the net.

Thanks again

 

[bitteraspects]

my tanks are in 12hr timers

 

[rdd1952]

Short answer is that it really depends on your tank needs. If you don't have live plants, then the lights are really on to make viewing the tank easier. If you have plants, then obviously, you need more light for them. There is a happy median on planted tanks so as not to leave them on too long and possibly lead to algae issues and having them on long enough to keep the plants healthy. As far as the fish are concerned, they don't need the lights. They get plenty from the ambient light during the day.

Good pinned topic by George Farmer.

 

[leeandstacie]

Short answer is that it really depends on your tank needs. If you don't have live plants, then the lights are really on to make viewing the tank easier. If you have plants, then obviously, you need more light for them. There is a happy median on planted tanks so as not to leave them on too long and possibly lead to algae issues and having them on long enough to keep the plants healthy. As far as the fish are concerned, they don't need the lights. They get plenty from the ambient light during the day.

Good pinned topic by George Farmer.

Thanks for the help there people got a couple of good links and they aren't conflictiing which is rife on the internet and the main reason I joined this forum

Cheers

 

[Truck]

i would say 8-10 hours max on a FW tank

 

[greenscooby]

my LFS advised 8 hours, i turn them on whan i get home from work and off when it's time for bed.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Like rdd1952 said, it really depends on your tanks needs, your plants and what kind of fish you have. If you are unsure, try to mimic natural lighting hours from dusk to dawn. A safe time I would say is between 10-12 hours. That is what my timer is set at on my tank.
-FHM

 

[OldMan47]

Each of my timers is set at a different value. The most light any of my tanks get is about 11 hours. The least is only 8 hours. The difference is that some have more difficult plants that need more light while others have less real plants and I need to keep it short to avoid algae building up. All of my lights go out at about bedtime within maybe a 15 minute time period. They all come on early enough that they are on by the time I get home from work. On a day off is the only time that I notice they are not all the same. I have only one tank with no plants in it and it does not get a timer. I turn the lights on when I get home and off at bedtime. That tank gets 5 or 6 hours of artificial light each day, with no direct sunlight, and the fish in it are thriving.