how long....

[chrisinha]

... do you leave your tank light on for? i've been leaving it for 12 hours, but i'm not sure if it's correct!

[Lisachromis]

Fish appreciate a regular cycle. 10-12 hours should fine, unless you are getting an algae problem

[fishfreaks]

we usually leave ours on for about 4-5 hours

[hogan]

i just put mine on wheni wake up and turn it off wheni go to bed, anywere from 5-12 hours is fine for the average community tropical fish

[nosilver4u]

I usually have mine on for about 16 hours a day, as I turn em on in the morning before I go to work at 8 am, and then turn em off before bed at midnight. That's probably why I always have algae problems, so I've gotten a plecostomus for each of my tanks. I dunno if this is bad for the fish, although I definitely wouldn't recommend it.
Now I suppose I'm going to get chewed out for it, and feel badly, and start turning my lights on at noon. Really, the only reason I haven't changed it, is because the lights are what heats my tanks since I can't afford heaters yet, although they never get below 74.

[chrisinha]

ok, and how many of you "cover" the aquarium for the fish to sleep?? ****:P

that's what i do. i turn on the lights at 7 am, turn them off around 7 pm, but because i always go to sleep pretty late, i cover the tanks so that the fish can sleep.

[MB75]

I keep the lights on for about 12 hours during darker times of year, and 8-10 hours summertime when there is lots of daylight through the windows anyway.
If there is an algae problem I keep 3 hours break with lights off in the middle of the day.

I would not cover the aquarium for the night. The reason for this is that at night the plants do not use carbondioxide and do not produce oxygen. Therefore the only oxygen is dissolved into water at water surface only so making sure there is good access of air to water surface is important.

[chrisinha]

well, the tanks have hoods and the only way "air" can get in there is by the holes on tht hood for the filters and heaters, which i dont cover anyways. ****

i actually have a very good reason for covering my tank during the night: my cat cant help it but harass them all night!!

[Fishfirst]

covering your fish tanks is perfectly alright... cloth allows air to pass through it anyway...

[Damon]

Originally Posted by Lisachromis @ Thu Jan 27, 2005 10:25 pm

Fish appreciate a regular cycle. 10-12 hours should fine, unless you are getting an algae problem ****

Couldn't have said it better myself.