eenrique25

Hi this is a great page and has helped me a lot, my tank is running pretty well now i haven't lost any fish and seems ok with water cycling and chemistry, my problem now is with light, i turn it on from 10 to 2 and from 6 to 10 is this ok is this enough ive read to not turn on lights to early in the morning cause fish get stressed if theres not enough room light so how many hours and what hours do you recommend should there be any intervals? thanks for all the help and for the questions answered.

lew2000

Since we are dealing with tropical fish and they get anywhere from 12 to 14 hours a day of light, i have my lights turn on at 8AM and of at 8PM (12hrs). You can get by with anywhere from 8-12hrs of light - but i would keep it consistent, since tropical areas recieve fairly consistent lighting regardless of the season. IMO, i wouldn't turn the lights on/off/on. As far as stress goes, if your tank doesn't recieve direct light, and any direct bright room light, you can set your tank to come on at a time you like for 10hrs. In one room i have a show tank that comes on at 11AM and shuts off at 11PM - so i can see it until i go to bed. So again, as far as i know, the best practice is to have a consistent period of light that begins and ends each day at the same times.

peacemaker92

Well, I turn on my aquarium light for decoration and the beauty of it. I don't mostly turn it on in the morning for it's a waste of electricity when there is natural light in the day. Unless, your aquarium is in a darkly lit room, then it is fine. But having natural light and aquarium light together isn't really good from what I heard.
But when you DO turn on the aquarium light, make it constant and at the same time everyday! For instance, if you turn it on at 11am, and turn it off at 11pm, make sure you do that everyday at the same time. Try keeping it a schedule, so your fish will be familiar with the lights so they don't get stressed out like what lew said.
Good luck!

aquariumnewbie

IMO, some people switch on their lights when they like it or to view the fish. But for me I will on it for at least 12 hours a day or slightly longer.