LeenBeth

Ok so I know that the hood lights in the tank are only supposed to be on 6-8 hours a day and that the lights are really for us to gaze and watch the fish

we figured we'd put the lights on a timer to turn on in the evening and then shut off at night when we are alseep anyway

but heres the thing

when we pass the tank during the day and want to look in... its dark....
how much of a problem is it to turn the lights off and on when its day and not their "lights on time"
im thinking it would stress them out...off and on and off and on etc

know what I mean?

thanks
lee

Shawnie

sometimes the off n on does stress them if there isnt any other type of lighting in the room...like windows or some other small lamp...depending on what you have in your tank depends on lighting...plants require so much light...everyone has a different schedule for leaving lights on but most ive seen and read about are 8-10 hours a day...

Butterfly

I run my lights on a 12hr on/12hr off and don't have any problems.
If the tank lights are off and you want to look at the fish just make sure teh room lights are on for a few minutes first. The sudden lights on in a dark room can cause them to panic.
Carol

LeenBeth

the tank is in the kitchen and there are lots windows in the room. It isnt direct light but the tank will get a lot of indirect light.

I have also read 8-10 hrs on however my LFS said 6-8.....
I waorry a little about algae because of the location of the tank ( its the only spot to put one )

Like right now....its 11:20 am....the room is lit...by natural light yet I cant see the fish. It doesnt help they are hiding either....
just didnt think the off and on of me wanting to see them was a good thing

Lucy

I'm home all day so I turn mine on between 7-8am and turn them off around 8pm.

I try to simulate day/night for them.

LeenBeth

oh yeah and there are no live plants in the tank
would love a planted tank but figured it would be enough for us to learn regular tanl maintenence and caring for the fish without throwing in all the complications plants can add....just wanted to focus on the fish for now but someday with more experience we will do the live plants

Butterfly

If you don't have live plants then shorter hours if you so desire would be ok. I definitely think they need to be on more than 6-8 hrs. Just turning them on and off at the same time so they kind of have a schedule would be good. Shielding the tank from the window light, weekly water changes, not over feeding will go a long way toward preventing algae.
Giving the fish plenty of hiding/sleeping places will make them more willing to come out and hide less. There are beautiful artificial plants out there made for aquariums, you can hardly tell the difference.
Carol