light for unplanted tank ?

Question

For an unplanted tank, should I keep the light on for 12 hours -as I’ve been told- or the normal room lighting is enough ?

Answer 1

For a tank with no plants, you don't need any special lighting at all. As long as you keep the tank out of direct sunlight, you won't have too many issues with algae. Your fish will be fine with any ambient light coming from the room. The only reasons tanks have lights are for plants and human enjoyment.

Nosoop4u

Answer 2

Unless you have live plants, lights are only for human viewing. The fish could care less about lighting and to be honest, lighting sometimes isn't that good for the fishes' eyes. You really only need to turn on your lights in the evening for a few hours; 2-4, for your viewing pleasure. The rest of the time, keep them off. All it's going to do by keeping them on is to encourage algae to grow.

Answer 3

The best one I found is a 25w blue light. It serves the same purpose as the clear but not as bright. It's more like a dim light for nighttime periods, plus it shows off the fish at night and you don't have to worry about the light being too bright.

Answer 4

if you dont have a planted tank then the light is for your benefit, not the fish