how long are your lights on
- Thread starter led_zeppelin
- Start date
It depends on the weather, the tank (planted vs. not), it's location (some get more ambient light w/o lights than others). Between 10 and 12 though. Less if I'm trying to cool the tanks off.
I leave mine on 12 hours daily from 9:00am-9:00pm
Temperature goes up 1-2*F during this period, so not a big problem with heat.
Temperature goes up 1-2*F during this period, so not a big problem with heat.
I chose 8-9 hours just because it was the lowest number, it is usually more like 4-5 hours at night when I come home from work. They got left on all night a couple nights ago because I was too tired to wait 30-45 minutes for the fish to eat, so after dropping in some food I crashed. 
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I want my light on 12 hours a day for the plants, but to create a subtle dawn/dusk effect (so I don't whack 'em with a full 260w at 7:00am) I turn on half at 7:00am and half at 7:30am, then vice/versa to turn them off at 7:30pm and 8:00pm. So they are on for 13 hrs/day. Also, I run lunar lights after 8:00pm usually until about midnight, but sometimes they are on until the other lights turn on in the morning.