xsile

Is there any such thing as having the lights on too long?


I have had no problems with algae bloom or anything in my planted 3 foot tank and my 7.5 gal tank. thing is i put the lights on when i leave for work @ 6:00 in the morning and dont turn them off till say 9:00 at night.

should there be a limit to how much i have the lights on for ?

Also i might add that i do have 2 BN pleco in the 3 foot and 1 bn in the 7.5 gal tank

Ryno

That is a long time to have the light on. But it seems to be working for you, how long have you done this?

I keep my light on my planted aquarium from 11 am to 3 pm then from 4 pm to midnight (its on a timer).

xsile

I have done this for at least 6 months now. never had a problem with it.


But i am considering adding another 30w tube to the tank as i think it looks to dull.

GreenMan13

By dull do you mean yellow? If so you just might want to get higher color temp bulbs.

If by dull you mean dark then more wattage is needed.

How many watts do you have already? The signs of too much light would be bleaching of colors in the fish and maybe even the plants and algae. Algae is usually the first to pop up but the plecos might just be eating all the algae so you cant tell.

xsile

i have got a 30W 3ft fluro tube over the tank, supposed to be for plants not too sure about the colour temp but i used to know it. Tube is an Aqua Glo

xsile

I went to my local pet store and purchased another 3ft 30w light today, i worked out with 60watts over 37 gallons its approx 1.6 watts per litre ?

tzqng8

1.6w per gallon or litre? Big difference there. 1.6w per gallon is okay from what I understand for a moderately planted tank. 1.6w per litre would be a LOT of light. As far as the amount of time you leave them on, most people say leave the lights on for 10-12 hours per day, but if this has been working for you, do what works and what you like, for sure.