I have a 45 litre fish aqurium tank with tropical fish in, how long does the built in light need to be on for?

Question

I have a 45 litre fish aqurium tank with tropical fish in, how long does the built in light need to be on for in a day?? and do fish like lights in there tank??

Answer 1

To be totally honest, the fish don't need a light. Turn it on during the part of the day you are there and around the tank and off the rest of the time is fine.

MM

Answer 2

In the tropics the days are split into 12 light and 12 hourt dark so 12 hours would be the maximum to have your lights on for. However, 8-10 hours is fine and will decrease your chances of algae becoming a problem. A simple electronic timer switch is a must and only a few quid from Argos. For the fish's wellbeing they need the light/dark cycle just as most living things do, so yes they do like it.
Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Yes they need light. They also need the light turned off at night so they can rest. How long you leave the light on is really up to you. I'd turn it on in the morning and then sometime in the evening turn it off. Go by the amount of sunlight outside. So in winter leave lights on a little less in summer a little longer. Fish will be healthier with light and darkness just like in the wild.

Answer 4

If you have live plants a minimum of 8 hours. If not there is no set amount of light that an aquarium needs.

I suggest getting a timer (they are sold in pet store's) to control the lighting, makes things much easier and you dont have to worry about remembering to shut them off at night. (i did this after a week of getting up at 2 am to turn off the light LOL).

I also have a tiny LED light that comes on when the Big florescent gos off so the fish wont startle if a light is turned on in the room.

And yes fish do like light, but they also need a dim of dark period in there day to rest and relax.

Answer 5

I keep my tank light on for about 5 hours in the evening, remember that the fish still need the light. The light on to often will ebcourage the growth of green algae and not on long enough will encourage brown algae. You need to get the balance right

Answer 6

Think about where fish live in the wild. Anywhere from clear ocean water that's only illuminated by a sun miles high in the sky to murky amazonian swamp rivers that barely have any light of any kind at all. Fish don't need lights. And they don't like bright lights at all. In fact, bright lights can actually blind some fish. Lights in an aquarium are for the plants and for our personal viewing. So, unless you are making special efforts to grow high light plants, you only need to turn your lights on at night while you are home and viewing the fish. Turn your lights off during the day and turn your lights off when you go to bed.

Answer 7

Most of my fish I put their light on when I wake up and I turn it off when I go to bed. But my clown loachs fish do not like to have the light on all the time. Some types of fish need to have their lights off longer then other fish do, because they like to hide in the dark. Research your type of fish. Also I'm pretty sure the built in lights in the fish tanks do not cause algae to grow in your tank, that is the natural sunlight that does that. So do not place fish near windows, if you have too keep the shades closed.

Answer 8

fish need around 8 to 12 hours or uv light to be really healthy so the light should be off at night but if you want to still see them at night you can get what is called a moonlight bulb which obviously gives the light affect of the moon, you can get these from any aquarium

Answer 9

just turn it on in the eveing
thats what we do then when we go to bed we turn it off again
so its only a few hours
they like to have some light but not all the time
if you have the light on to much this will also effect the water

Answer 10

I switch my aquarium lights on about 3 pm and then switch them off around 1am
My tanks are heavily planted and this is about right for my tanks without encouraging algae