Light in aquarium - regular times needed?

[someone0815]

Hi everybody!

I don't know much about aquariums, but:

if you have a lamp in your aquarium, should it be lighted in periodic times?

...or doesn't it matter to the fish if they have light just every now and then, independent on that time it actually is?

Thanks! ^^

[mgamer20o0]

lamp in or on? if you dont have plants it doesnt matter if its on or off.

[melosu58]

Moved to the General hardware and equipment discussion forum.

[someone0815]

1. This is not a question about HARDWARE?!? ....my concern is the wellfare of the fish!?

2. There are plants in the aquarium, and tthe lamp is inside it, too...!

[ezy33]

In a FW with no live plants the lights are for viewing the fish, unless the room has no ambient lighting. In a FW with live plants or SW then the plants and/or corals need strong lighting to imitate daylight hours.

[jsoong]

If you have plants, you need a regular lighting period ... 12hr out of 24 is a good place to start.

For fish only, you can have the lights on only when you are there to look at the fish, as long as there is some ambient light in the room so the fish is not totally in the dark the rest of the time. However, fish are reputed to develop better color with good regular light. <This is for FW ... if you are doing reef, then you must have good light & very specific lighting periods.>

[someone0815]

ok, good to hear that!

thank you guys!

[gzeiger]

You can get a pretty reliable timer for around $7 at Walmart, and a fancy digital one that can vary the on/off times from weekend to weekday or on some other schedule for about $12.