dorcy

Hi everyone,
this is my first post to fishlore, i've been reading for a while now since I decided to go get my tank, but have never posted.

I have a question about lighting. I went and got a automated light switch that turns my lights on at 11am and off at 9pm each day. I was wondering if this is a good amount of time for the fish and the live plants I have in my tank. also, I was wondering if I could mix things up a bit...for example:

turn the light on for a couple hours while my partner and I are getting ready in the morning (say from 7:30am - 9am), then turn them off until say mid-afternoon (on again at 3pm), then have them turn off before we go to bed around 10:30-11pm?

Will this stress the fish? Will it harm the plants? I know there should be about 10-12 hours per day of light...but I don't want to stress them if this is going to be too much...

thanks

andy65

I am not sure about the on again off again thing,but for live plants I would say that 10 to 11 Hr is good.

I have mine on from 9:30am till 9pm. I had had a big algae problem but taking it back 30 minutes,it was running 9:30am to 9:30pm,cut the algae down and there is still plenty for my otto and shrimp to eat all day.

Someone with a bit more expertise on this will be around sortly.

Oh and WELCOME to Fishlore!!!!

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!! as far as lighting, and plants, it depends on what kind of plants you have...I have all lowlight plants so I leave my lights on for about 8-9 hours a day..and depending on how much light is in the rooms where the tank is, depends on how much on and off lighting effects the fish..there was another thread going on as to if this stresses the fish....some ppl have different opinions...I have lots of light in the rooms where my tanks are, so it doesnt seem to phase my fish when I turn them off n on...to me, and my fish, on or off and times dont seem to matter to them ...its all what I seem to want....goodluck and enjoy the site!

LetDiceFly

I actually have my lights turn out for a couple hours during the afternoon because it "theoretically" cuts down on algae growth. Supposedly the algae is sensitive to this interruption of light while most plants are not. I don't know how much scientific credibility this theory has, but in my limited experience it seems to have the desired affect. As far as the fish, I don't think the lights matter to them much at all in a freshwater aquarium.

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

That sounds like good lighting.

dorcy

Thank you to everyone who responded...I think I'll make some minor changes to my lighting like I said in my post.