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When I read a recommendation to have the tank light on for, say, 8-12 hours - do I need to consider the daylight in the room or not?

I'd like to have the tank light on at night (6-11pm ish) because that's when we're sitting around looking at it. Thing is, the room is light from daylight from 6am-5pm or so.

It seems silly to have fish and not have the light on when I'm home, but I don't want to stress them out by having them lit for 17 hours a day.

If I leave the tank light off until 3-4pm, will they be able to sleep with just the indirect daylight in the room? Then they'll have 8 hours of direct tank light after that, and 6 hours of total dark?

(ps, I'm not 100% new - I was melissamorris but I decided that was a less interesting name then Melflisha, so I've re-registered with a new name...)

Thanks -

Melissa

um.. i am not sure but i don't really think that some fishes care. if u have loaches etc. that like the night then u might have to think about that when u keep ur light on. but 8 hours seems good(again not really sure) b/c some fishes need their sleep

o and welcome to FP again!

Last edited by bettachris at 18-Feb-2005 21:21

This is just me:

I get up about 6-7am every morning (ok during the week) and the first thing I do is turn on the light to the fish. I usually don't go to bed until about 10am and it is then that I turn off the light. All is fine with the fish, and they aren't stressed out (as far as I can tell). Now on occassion I won't turn the lights on all day (especially at school). At school M-F the lights go on about 7:30am and stay on till about 5:30-7pm. Then of course when they go off Friday night they don't come back on till Monday. They are fine (or they were Tuesday when I left in the middle of the day--sure they still are KTS I'm sure is taking good care of them for me).

Anyways just try to keep some sort of a schedule, and occassionally don't turn them on till the afternoon. Your fish will be fine. Just keep in mind the longer the lights are on, the more algae you might grow...Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Room light doesnt really stress the fish as much as some other things do, but because my sister would watch tv till late @night and used a really bright room light (right near the tank ) when she was living with me I made it a habit to keep the tank covered so that the noise and light would bother them less.

^_^

[hr width='40%']"Somewhere beyond happiness and sadness
I need to calculate,what creates my own madness...
and I am waiting for disaster"

As for the way you want to do your lighting, I would say not, that is will not harm or bother the fish, unless you are wanting to breed some of them. I would say the more important thing, is consistancy. In other words, have your lights on a timer, so the lights come on and go off at the same time every day and evening. This way the fish will get used to it, and be able to find a night resting place when they need it. You will even start seeing your tank "shut down" with action a few minutes before the lights go out. As the fish get used to the common night time, they will find their evening resting spot for the night, a few minutes before the lights go out. With this continuity, they will become more comfortable in their surroundings, and thus be more secure and healthy.

I might also suggest, you have your lights from the tank, on more than that. As the reflective light from the room, is not as much as you think. It is more of an extended sunrise time to them. When you tank lights come on, this will be more of a day light time for them. My suggestion would be for the tank lights to be on for about 10-12 hours per day, even with the reflected lighting from the room.

HTH.....

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...

light matters in breeeding of some fish but i woodnt worry bout it if ur not breeding
my room rite now is lit entirely by the 7 fish tanks that i have in it n the odd time 1100watts of black light
my cichlids when the room is dark dissappear into the rock work as my tetras dwell in the plants my nocturnal fish come out n feed
its unique as they no it is night even when all the lights r on at about 10pm they come out no matter how brite it is
but some nights my lights stay on all night n it doesnt seem to bother them at all

My tank is in my living room where sometimes I stay up late at night with the room light on. I have my light on a dimmer to try not to bother them too much, and there are plenty of plants, wood etc in the tank for the fish to hide behind if they're looking for a dark corner to rest.

As far as I can tell, the fish seem more stressed by sudden and/or out-of-routine changes than they do from room lights alone.

Interestingly, the book "Fancy Goldfish" (Johnson and Hess) recommends full spectrum light for 12-16 hours a day.

Other places had recommended 8-10, but this book I just got seems to be written by folks who know their stuff, and if 16 hours a day is alright (so long as the rest is actually dark) then I'm not worried anymore.

: )

Thanks for input and replies.

Melissa