Day/Night Cycle question

[Ralij]

So, I have a regular timer on my reef tank for about 10 hours a day (12 on my planted tank), but my tanks are in my office, where I spend most of my time. I have issues with an unstable sleep schedule so there are stretches for weeks or months at a time where I'm effectively nocturnal. Should I be covering the tanks in a towel or other thick material to keep the light out during the fish and coral's nighttime?

Do regular household lightbulbs have any effect on the fish or corals? I don't want to stress them out...

 

[homer1475]

Ambient light should be fine.

Look in the tank and see if the fish are sleeping. Also typically nighttime is when corals feed, so their feeding tentacles should be out.

If the ambient light is to bright, you might want to cover it up. I would think just a thin sheet would do the trick.