Long enough night?

[jencheung]

So I've been curious now that my new little reef is in my living room how long of an actual "lights out" night period it needs. The actual tank lights are only on for about 11 hours but between the room getting tons of sun in the morning for hours before tank lights come on (though no direct sun on the tank itself) and then in the evening we're up pretty late usually in the living room watching tv and whatnot with the room lights on. So it'll change with the seasons - as the sun comes up later it'll get more "night" but during the summer with the sun coming up at 5 am it's probably only getting 5 hours of darkness. Is that enough? I know how cranky I get when I don't get enough sleep, I don't want to stress my critters out by not letting them get enough sleep time (or active time for any nocturnal critters I have in there). Thanks!

 

[Reefscape]

So I've been curious now that my new little reef is in my living room how long of an actual "lights out" night period it needs. The actual tank lights are only on for about 11 hours but between the room getting tons of sun in the morning for hours before tank lights come on (though no direct sun on the tank itself) and then in the evening we're up pretty late usually in the living room watching tv and whatnot with the room lights on. So it'll change with the seasons - as the sun comes up later it'll get more "night" but during the summer with the sun coming up at 5 am it's probably only getting 5 hours of darkness. Is that enough? I know how cranky I get when I don't get enough sleep, I don't want to stress my critters out by not letting them get enough sleep time (or active time for any nocturnal critters I have in there). Thanks!

As long as you aim for about 8 hours of tank light, you'll be fine. Having the lights on for a long period of time, like 11 hours tank light, in my opinion will lead to plague algae growth..

 

[Blossom112]

Thanks i always wounderd that question

 

[BToast]

Me too. Thanks

 

[JohnLin]

Fish's brain doesn't fully go into a resting state, only partial part of the brain, to alert themselves in case of any predator or intruders at night. Therefore, fish require far less time for "sleeping". 5 hours of complete darkness is plenty of time.