2007-01-21 13:01:12 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
It really depends on what you have in your tank. If you're trying to grow plants, especially tropicals, they benifit most from a pretty even dose of day and night. If you think about it, tropical regions mostly exist near the equator which has 12 hour days and nights.
For a good plant tank, I suggest getting a timer strip you can hook your lights up to. If your light is a decent plant light, you'll have a couple high-intensity strips where you can time the lights to turn halfway on for maybe a half an hour at a time, thus creating a morning and evening effect. This simulates a tropical environment pretty closely. Excess light creates algae and robs plants of the nightly catabolic state.
If you don't have plants, then it's not so much an issue. Again, excess light can create algae blooms that are a nuissance. However, fish don't seem to have bad side-effects to prolong light that I'm aware of.
2007-01-22 15:59:19 · answer #1 · answered by resistnzisfutl 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Normally I run mine when I get home in the evening until I go to bed. About 4-5 hours tops. Some people run theres longer but you have to remember that the light will promote algae growth and if left on for long periods of time you could end up with a green tank! What i tell most of my customers is normally 4 hours a day is sufficient enough light for the tanks. UNless of course you are growing live plants. then you need different bulbs completely and you will have to adjust your lighting accordingly. We run our bulbs on the plants for about 8-12 hours a day. Hope this helps!
2007-01-21 21:23:04 · answer #2 · answered by meecaf11 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should only leave your light on until you can't see the fish tank anymore until the time you go to bed. Because believe me if you don't you will have alot of algae to clean up pretty soon, because the longer the light is on the more the algae grows.
2007-01-22 18:28:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Aquarium lighting will depend on the size of your tank and what you have in the tank. Example: 20 gallon freshwater with live plants. More information about your tank would be helpful if you want a good answer.
2007-01-21 21:09:50 · answer #4 · answered by tinar92 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I usually run mine from 7 pm to 7 am.
2007-01-21 21:08:56 · answer #5 · answered by Jim C 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋