lights question

[rochestertank]

Just wondering how long I "should" keep the lights on in my tank and if it is "kosher" so to speak to turn on the light in the middle of the night if I want to do a sneak-up attack on the blenny that acts like i'm his ex-girlfriend and hides whenever he sees me. stupid joke. anyway. also, i'm pretty sure fish sleep but just wanted a little confirmation. ---right now, i keep the lights on for about 7 hours and it's on a timer. thinking maybe more time but i also like a clean tank and low electricity bills.

 

[theevoys]

What kind of light are they? I had 220watts of PC on my 55 and left them on for 12 hours (but I had a decent amount of soft corals). Now, I have 175 MH on for about 7 hours and still have the PC on for 12. Do you have anything in there that 'need's light?

 

[rochestertank]

i don't have any live rocks but i like to grow algae for the snails, crab, and blenny to eat. so nothing really that "needs" light. as far as the lights go, the one in the front is a long fluorescent white one and the one in the back is the same size but blue. I don't know the specs on them. everything was given to me a while ago.

 

[davocean]

Lighting is one of the most important things, and some would say THE most .
Don't wing it, or you WILL be growing mostly algae, which is another thing you really don't want.
Most people buy snails and blennys to try to rid algae.
I bought a tank and the previous owner used regular industrial
flourescent bulbs, so be sure to check those.