Turning tank light off

[Atlis]

Hi I'm very new to this whole fish thing and before I get my fish, I want to make sure I'm taking care of them properly and do all the research I can. And I had a question: could I turn off my fish/plant light during the night time while I sleep. Or do I need to keep it on 24/7. 

[Galabar]

On 1/15/2024 at 10:57 PM, Atlis said:

Hi I'm very new to this whole fish thing and before I get my fish, I want to make sure I'm taking care of them properly and do all the research I can. And I had a question: could I turn off my fish/plant light during the night time while I sleep. Or do I need to keep it on 24/7. 

You'll definitely want to turn your lights off.  My suggestion is something like a Kasa power strip that will allow you to easily set up a schedule (e.g. 12 hours on / 12 hours off).

What type of tank are you going with?  The most important thing when starting out is cycling the tank properly.  You can take a look at other threads (and ask any questions you need in this thread as well).

Things can be a bit overwhelming to start.  So, let's start at the beginning.  🙂

Edited January 16 by Galabar

[Lonkley]

You shouldn't keep it on 24/7. You'll end up with a algae everywhere. 

Lighting is kind of a mix between science and a guessing game. It depends on the intensity, the tank, and if you have live plants.  But 8 hours is a good start, and yes you can split it if you like. 

It would also be very helpful to put it on a timer. I like using the Kasa home control with my alexa. You can add whatever schedule you want. Just make sure that if you unplug the light while it's turned on, plugging it back in turns the light back on.   

[govsfabshop]

Kasa plugs are the way to go on lights, i run mine on from 6-12 then on again from about 5pm-10pm. Plan on keeping the lights off the first few days when adding fish to keep their stress down.