Lighting question...
- Thread starter Peachesk
- Start date
Actually, that is better than the all at once lighting. Most fish don't have eyelids. So, they should have sunrise and sunset. They need night so the ones that sleep/rest overnight can do so without needing to hide in a cave or something similar to be in the dark. Having a gradual rise and fall in the light level allows the fish to adapt as needed. Whether one has either type of light it should do one of two things:
1. Not gradual. Have the lights on and off the same time every day via a timer. If you use multiple lights you can get some graduation by separate timers. But, in planted tanks, the plants usually dictate how long the lights should be on to thrive but not so longthat it encourages algae.
2. Lights that come on and off gradually. They can be set to do so at the same time year round. If they can also simulate regular seasonal duration changes, that would be even more natural. Fish in the wild get seasonal changes. Daylight hours are one such thing that changes.
The more variability one wants in terms of haw the lighting works, the more expensive things get. They can require and app to get the full benefits. So budget matters. I have a few LED fisxtures that let me adjust the intensity, but if I want it to change it, I have to do it manually. They are about the least expensive light option for small tanks. But moes of the LRD set-ps now come with more options.
I have used the all on and off light since I started in the hobby and things worked OK. But the fish tend to be startled by all on, especially if there is no light in the room before that. Most of my tanks have been in rooms where there is some light from other sources prior to the tank lights coming on. I am now in ramping down mode. So, I was not willing to replace the lighting on the number of tanks I had that required lighting. And some tanks only get their light turned on when I work in the tank. Otherwise, they get indirect light via a window when the sun is up.
What sort of lighting one uses on their tank(s) is a choice. But one should consider the quality of life for the inhabitants as well as the pleasure of being able just to watch what is going on in any tank.
1. Not gradual. Have the lights on and off the same time every day via a timer. If you use multiple lights you can get some graduation by separate timers. But, in planted tanks, the plants usually dictate how long the lights should be on to thrive but not so longthat it encourages algae.
2. Lights that come on and off gradually. They can be set to do so at the same time year round. If they can also simulate regular seasonal duration changes, that would be even more natural. Fish in the wild get seasonal changes. Daylight hours are one such thing that changes.
The more variability one wants in terms of haw the lighting works, the more expensive things get. They can require and app to get the full benefits. So budget matters. I have a few LED fisxtures that let me adjust the intensity, but if I want it to change it, I have to do it manually. They are about the least expensive light option for small tanks. But moes of the LRD set-ps now come with more options.
I have used the all on and off light since I started in the hobby and things worked OK. But the fish tend to be startled by all on, especially if there is no light in the room before that. Most of my tanks have been in rooms where there is some light from other sources prior to the tank lights coming on. I am now in ramping down mode. So, I was not willing to replace the lighting on the number of tanks I had that required lighting. And some tanks only get their light turned on when I work in the tank. Otherwise, they get indirect light via a window when the sun is up.
What sort of lighting one uses on their tank(s) is a choice. But one should consider the quality of life for the inhabitants as well as the pleasure of being able just to watch what is going on in any tank.
I imagine it will be fine, look at it as if it’s simulating a partially cloudy day.