Lighting Question...

[WillyRBeek]

I'm just wondering, roughly how many hours a day should I be keeping the light on in my tank? I usually have mine on for about 13-14 hours a day, but someone told me today that you should only have the light on for about 8-10 hours a day, but on the flip side, the guy who told me this doesn't seem to know a whole lot about keeping fish, but it did get me curious about it.

 

[ALEXF]

Do you have live plants in your tank? If not then you really dont need the light on at all as it stimulates algae growth. I only have my tank light on when im around which is maybe 6 hrs a day.

 

[WillyRBeek]

Do you have live plants in your tank? If not then you really dont need the light on at all as it stimulates algae growth. I only have my tank light on when im around which is maybe 6 hrs a day.

No I do not have any live plants, but I do have quite a bit of algae growing in the tank. So you're saying I should only keep the light on for a couple of hours a day?

 

[OldMan47]

The natural light that comes in the window on the far side of the room is plenty for the fish. For you to watch them, turn it on when you are around. Without plants, its best not to overdo. I run a timer at about 10 hours a day but I do have live plants. My timer is set to turn the lights on so it will be lit when I'm around and go out at around my bed time.

 

[ALEXF]

exactly, if you have alot of algae growth and no real plants i would kept your lights on very minimally.