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Is there such a thing as having your aquarium light on too long? I usually have it on for 10 to 12 hours, but would it hurt if I left it on longer? I'm just curious if this harms the fish in any way.

Justin

Colts Fan For Life
30g platy tank: 2 sunburst wag platys, 2 redtailed white calico platys, 2 red wag platys, 1 fry(not sure who it belongs to), 1 Golden CAE.
Bettas:1 VT male

Hi,
The answer to your question is No, and Yes.
The reason for the light is for the fish and plants
and to simulate a day in the tropical noonday sun.
The reason for the light for you, is to view them in
all their colors, generally while you are home and have
the time to appreciate them.

If you leave the lights on too long your tank will soon
become a tank full of fish, plants, and algae. If you
don't leave the lights on for a long enough time, then
the plants will suffer and you won't be simulating the
sun.

Generally speaking we run our lights between 10-12 hours
at a time. Remember that like you, plants and fish need
"down time" time when the lights are off and they can
rest. The easiest way is to use a timer and set it so
the lights come on to give about 10 hours of light during
some time of the day. Perhaps, if you stay up late, you
would set the timer so the lights come on either just
before you come home or just after and are on till you go
to bed.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Moonlights or dusk lighting might be an option too, although it would have to be worked in carefully to ensure some 6-8 hours of total darkness.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I run my lights for 12hrs using a timer this is most important and benficial to the fish and the plants as they become used to that cycle of time and light. As Frank mentioned fish need a down time. If there was a light on 24/7 it would finally stress them out plus have many other problems in the tank.
Even with the so called moon lighting it is still light and the fish must rest as in nature.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
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If you don't have plants and aren't planning on getting any, you want to try to go with the least amount of wattage you can with the lighting. This will help prevent algae.

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful as usual!

Justin

Colts Fan For Life
30g platy tank: 2 sunburst wag platys, 2 redtailed white calico platys, 2 red wag platys, 1 fry(not sure who it belongs to), 1 Golden CAE.
Bettas:1 VT male

Another thing is that if you have a nocturnal fish and wish to view it huntung or just n action you can hook up a black light or one of the red bulbs used for retiles. although the red bulb will cause more heat if you only keep it one when you wish to look at your fish this can be kept to a minimum. I did this with the red bulb when i had a clown knife (RIP). It was very interesting to watch him (with the red light)hunting his dinner of small feeder guppies... its worth a try (if you have a nocturnal fish you wish to watch).

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Black lights can cause serious health issues with fish and are not suggested at all.

They emit light far into the UV side of the spectrum, and as we should all know by now UV is very harmful being the main cause of skin cancer and other damage. I could not immagine fish having any sort of defences against UV light.

Here is a thread with some additional information.

^_^

I fully agree with Babelfish. I did not know fully the reasons BUT I always knew it was a big NONO. Yes I know people do it but for all the wrong reasons it is for them selves and not for the fish which should be out main/only concerns.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

yes, but at the samt time the UV rays are magnified in the water in nature... although some of them are filtered i cant imagine them being much worse than a natural light or one of those old flourescent aquarium bulbs (the ones that emit the purple-ish light) luckily i no longer use them. also if UV is so dangerous fot the fish then wouldn't UV sterilizers be obselete? wouldn't i make them more hartmful then helpful?

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

I believe UV sterilers are used to kill algae, parasites, and unwanted bacteria. It is done so by running water under a UVC light (UVC is the most dangerous type of UV light so try not to turn the light on out of the Sterlizer housing) hence killing all of the above, but you dont put the UV light were all the fish swim through it is usaully under the tank where the fish dont get expose to the light and therefor are not damaged by it.

Moon lights are better option for viewing nocturnal fish, they consist of a few blue LED's which does not emit Ultra Violet light

On a second note a blacklight is a UVA light which is the least harmful type of UV light. fish, humans and other animals all need UV light as well it comes naturally from the Sun. Overexposure to it is harmful but so is underexposure in humans lack of UVB light causes a Vitamin D deficiency (which can lead to cancer).

Sorry to bore you guys with info on UV light but i think i know more about wavelengths of light than i know about the fish.

I dont even use normal tank lights because the tank gets natural light from a window in our living room for most of the day since there are windows on both sides, where the sun rises and sets. instead I use blue LED's on a timer and they run from late morning till a few hours after sunset. I sometimes get a glimpse of my south american bumblebee catfish that way, yet it doesnt keep the tetras awake.

i gave up on a planted tank so normal lighting isnt a issue.