lighting duration in you Aquarium set – How long should the light be on? Who does not know the constant and all valuable discussion to the Duration of lighting in the aquarium. Due to the new control options, this naturally does not flatten out. Be it when it comes to daylight or lighting at night, which is already very often in use today. These are usually referred to as moonlight (we have already reported on this). But how long should the lighting be on and should it be based on the time of day and nature? Do you have to in the course of LED technologies to consider? What changes with a corresponding aquarium controller when it comes to the duration of the lighting and also how much light the plants need at all. All of these questions are very important to us. Let's try to answer these.
Why do we need light in the aquarium at all?
Very many aquarists will now say quite quickly that the plants grow. That is also correct, but that alone is not the only reason why we have light in the aquarium. Even perch tanks, as known from the Malawi tanks, have 90 percent built-in lighting and cannot get by with normal daylight. Here the reason can certainly not lie in the plants, because these tanks usually have no plants at all.
Of course, the majority of freshwater community tanks are provided with aquarium lighting so that you can see splendid growth of the plants can look forward to. Plants need light for their photosynthesis. Not only that plays lighting duration, but also the Amount of light Luminous intensity and also the light color a role. Values such as Kelvin, Lumen or Lux are considered here. But in our Guide to aquarium lighting more. There we explain these terms in detail.
In order for the aquarist to be able to enjoy his ornamental fish and the aquarium as a habitat, he must of course also be able to look at them. The light is also used for this.
However, ornamental fish need light, just like us humans. Playing in the great outdoors Sunrise and also the Sunset a crucial role. That is why attempts are now being made to simulate this simulation of nature as precisely as possible. Gone are the days of a simple timer.
Pisces only feel comfortable if they also have lighting and thus a day and night rhythm.
Basically, you should also note that even with enough daylight, this will not be enough in the aquarium. An additional light source is required in almost 90 percent of all cases. The incidence of light will not be sufficient just because of the daylight in the room.
The whole thing again bullet points for the lazy readers among you:
- Lighting for the well-being of ornamental fish
- Light is also needed for breeding
- Aquarium light for us viewers
- Plants need light to grow
- Daylight alone in the room is not enough
- Too many casualties from discs and furnishings
How much light do the aquatic plants and plants in our aquarium actually need?
Before we go into more detail about the lighting duration, we want to ask how much aquatic plants (waterweed, java moss) because need light. Basically, this cannot be answered spontaneously and certainly not uniformly. Different plants also have different needs for light. Many fast growing plants are more sensitive here and require less light than others. Nevertheless, one can remember one thing. Good plant growth cannot be achieved under 6 hours.
If you want to know the exact requirements, then you should specify them in the individual Profiles of aquatic plants ask. There are relevant instructions there. This basic formula, however, can be applied in this way.
Set the lighting duration according to nature
As already described above, you should not go under 6 hours. Probably the best way, in our opinion, to find out the optimal lighting duration is to compare it with the normal habitat of the ornamental fish. Here, of course, it depends very much on where the fish like guppies, platy, threadfish etc. come from and what the course of the day is like there. In our latitudes, we struggle with very little light, especially in the winter months. In the area of the equator this is different. The ratio between day and night is the same there. Both are 12 hours. Therefore, one could basically assume a lighting duration of around 12 hours. This has also proven itself, although you can certainly go a little shorter. 10 hours will also be sufficient for many aquariums. It shouldn't be less than 10 hours, unless you have problems, but more on that later.
Lunch break / lighting break in the lighting duration
Again and again one speaks of a “Lunch break” of lighting in an aquarium. This also makes sense and not only if you have algae in the aquarium. For one, this can growth of plants stimulate and thus also the enrichment of the water with oxygen O2 and on the other hand we aquarists also benefit from it.
Most of them will be working and will therefore not really have the opportunity to look at their fish and the aquarium during the day. When you come home in the evening and the lights go out, you don't really get much from your fish. After all, you want to enjoy your hobby and watch the ornamental fish.
For example, if you have the lighting on from 6:00 a.m. in the morning, it would be off by 18:00 p.m. in the evening after a lighting period of 12 hours. So you could enjoy the fish in the morning at breakfast, but not in the evening. If you took a lunch break from 12.00:15 p.m. to 00:21 p.m., you could enjoy it until 00:XNUMX p.m. in the evening. That's why the lunch break makes sense here too.
Is there too much light in the aquarium?
This question must also be examined, because one should not overdo it here either. 12 hours, 14 hours or more not only harms the biological balance in the aquarium, but also promotes the growth of algae. In addition, the water values can deteriorate accordingly. In nature, there is no such thing in the respective countries of origin of the ornamental fish. Therefore, it is important to orientate oneself to nature.
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Algae problems: If there are problems with algae, shorten the lighting time
Finally, a note if problems arise in the aquarium. Here it can make sense to shorten the lighting duration for a while or even turn it off completely. Especially if you algae in the aquarium the lighting duration should be shortened. This can even go so far that you have to use a dark cure. The lighting is switched off completely there. See also our guide to combating algae and also the to dark cure.
