-
You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up
How long should i have my lights on?
- Thread starter Discus
- Start date
Without knowing your full setup its really impossible to say!
You need to provide full tank setup including CO2 dosing if any and fertilizer dosing regime also.
You need to provide full tank setup including CO2 dosing if any and fertilizer dosing regime also.
nry
Member
If it ain't broke, don't fix it is my motto 
My lights are on 6hrs, and all is well
My lights are on 6hrs, and all is well
Might be of for now, also depends how long the tank has been running, are the plants new, might run into problems down the road if not addressed.nry said:If it ain't broke, don't fix it is my motto
My lights are on 6hrs, and all is well
Again the info is vague, are lights T5 or T8, whats the actual wattage? filtration? turnover?
I never run lights in my tanks for more than 7 hours, my high tech tank gets the 7 (but I used to run 144w over 125l), my 60cm (30w) gets 6 and my two low tech 12l nanos (11w) get 4-5 hours.
I think most folk running high tech tanks that use Co2 & EI, have their growing period set for 6-7 hours.
I am at home most of the day so I have a subdued LED sunrise light for one hour in the morning , 6 hours of main growing light then 1.5 hours of sunset light again from a weak light source.
So my tank is lit for 8.5 hours a day but only for six with all guns blazing!
The idea is to get maximum healthy growth & no algae, I guess if your tank is operating well for you all is fine.
I am at home most of the day so I have a subdued LED sunrise light for one hour in the morning , 6 hours of main growing light then 1.5 hours of sunset light again from a weak light source.
So my tank is lit for 8.5 hours a day but only for six with all guns blazing!
The idea is to get maximum healthy growth & no algae, I guess if your tank is operating well for you all is fine.
mjbarnard
Member
Does it matter which time period one uses? I will start with 5-6 hours and build up to 7-8. However I like to come back home in the evening and view the tank. So is there a problem with starting at say 3pm?
Hi,
Higher plants generally need only about 8-9 hours of light, after which they begin to shut down. You can see this demonstrated on certain stem plants that have nastic movements, where the leaves appear to "fold up" near the end of the photoperiod. Any longer a photoperiod encourages algae, although you may not see this if the lighting intensity is held in check. T8s are less intense than T5s so you might get away with this configuration, but as the bulb intensity increases the margin of error decreases.
Cheers,
Higher plants generally need only about 8-9 hours of light, after which they begin to shut down. You can see this demonstrated on certain stem plants that have nastic movements, where the leaves appear to "fold up" near the end of the photoperiod. Any longer a photoperiod encourages algae, although you may not see this if the lighting intensity is held in check. T8s are less intense than T5s so you might get away with this configuration, but as the bulb intensity increases the margin of error decreases.
Cheers,
