Lights on while I am home

[twubs]

I have a semi planted 15 gallon long tank. I have been leaving the light on longer then I know I should usually 8am -10pm. Have folks tried to run the lights from 7-12 off from 12-5 then back on from 5-10. This would allow the tank to get the desired 10 horus of light but let me get to enjoy seeing the tank while I am home.

Will this stress the plants, the fish, have any algea afffects, or water chemistry?

Thanks,

 

[neilanh]

There are folks who do that, and there's no harm in doing that.

Personally, I run my lights later in the day so I can enjoy the tanks in the evening. My lights don't turn on until noon or 2pm (depending on the tank) and shut off at 10pm.

 

[thincat]

I do the same as neilanh, lights on from 12:30 to 10pm. Set the lights for your viewing. I would not breakup the light cycle. It is just not normal for their growth cycle.

 

[BigJim]

I do break up my light cycle. I have my lights set to be on 4:30AM-9:AM and 3:00PM-9:00PM. It doesn't seem to bother anything in the tanks.

 

[beepboop]

You can go to the hardware store and buy a little timer that will turn the lights on/off and the same time every day. We used that for our christmas lights last year. The only problem is that if the power goes out, the time stops and can throw off the schedule. But, you just rotate the dial to the correct time and it fixes it.