house lights

[ecr111]

Does anyone have any knowledge, experience or even feel for a reef in a house with traffic and lights going on and off all the time.

I have a fairly large house and have choices as to where to put my 120 G. I'm going to do a fish with some soft coral.

I had it in my den/study in the last setup, and felt that it didn't get enough exposure, but not much traffic or house lights on and off.

I can put it in the family room, with the most exposure, but the room lights are on 'till 10 or 11pm and the tv sometimes goes until 3am.

Are house lights, tv, etc. bad for a reef when the reef's lights are out?

Thanks,

Clay

[mogurnda]

My reef is in the main gathering space of the house. The traffic and hubbub don't seem to affect the corals or fish. There's a lot of hubbub on a natural reef. Now that I'm old and married, I don't stay up until 3 much anymore, but the softies close up and the serpent star starts roaming around when the tank lights go out, whether we're in the room or not. I take that as a sign that they aren't all that sensitive to events outside the tank.

[a_free_bird73]

It is not really an issue although there are some drawbacks. There are many organisms that only venture out at night and I noticed that my fish will reduce their population significantly if there is lighting around after the aquarium lights go off. When light is dim, the organisms start coming out but the fish can still see them.

[gcvt]

I cover my tank with a dark blanket to keep unwanted light out. My tank lights come on in the afternoon and go off late at night and the tank is in a room with southern exposure so it gets a lot of natural light before the tank lights come on. The blanket keeps it pitch black. It's a black-back tank so I only really need to cover two sides - one end and the front. Also, it's an open-back tank so heat from the lights isn't a problem if I'm not there to remove the blanket when the lights come on. I even cut a little hole for the fan in the hood. :)

[Ken b]

I keep my tank in an area where when the tank lights go out there is no other light until they come back on in the mid morning.