# Lighting timing



## ShaneSmith (Feb 15, 2004)

Apparently changes in lighting timing has changed since i have been out of the hobby. I used to run lights 12 hrs a day. Now people are talking about only 5-6 hours the first couple weeks!

I plan on getting the 6 bulb t ek lights for my tank. Should i just run two of the bulbs ( about 1 wpg) for 10 hours and in the middle of the day blast it with all the bulbs for a couple hours. can anyone give me a general guide to follow with this? Also do many people use breaks in the photo period?


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Well, my lights are out for about 3 hours in the middle of the day when I'm at work. I only do it so I can see my tanks when I'm at home, but I haven't noticed any problems from it. My tanks are NPT and I don't know how it would work for high tech. 

I think the shorter hours of light are done by people using high light so the plants have the time to adjust to the new tank and they don't end up growing algae. Of course, I could be totally wrong.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Many people have noticed that some plants close up their leaves after about 8 hours of light, like they are saying good night. This feeds our suspicion that plants naturally need about 8 hours of light, not more. Of course the ambient room light continues to light the tank for more than 8 hours, but that isn't enough to fuel plant growth. When we cut our lighting back from 10-12 hours a day to 8 or fewer hours a day, some of us have noticed much fewer algae issues. This is for people using 2+ watts per gallon, on up.


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## ShaneSmith (Feb 15, 2004)

I see, so leaving the Dim lights on for 8 and blasting it for a couple hours is not proven to have benefits? People just like the look? I am ordering some tek lights that are 6 bulbs over my tank. Could i run just 2 bulbs for 8 hours and for the middle of the day put all 6 on? Will this keep the plants growing like they are in high light without having them the whole time in high light?

If this has benefits how long shoulw i BLAST for?


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## dhavoc (Mar 17, 2006)

if your lighting a 65, what watt t5's are you planning on using? i use a tek t5 with 8x54w (1 bulb changed to actintic to make it useless) but run all 7 only for 3 hours a day and 4 bulbs for 10 hours a day (with a 3 hour siesta at midday). the midday off period is mainly so that the light is on when i leave the house in the morning and will be on till at least 9 at night for me to enjoy the tank when i get home again. got a major green water problem right now, but no other algae except for some bba that came with my anubias when i bought them (the bba is not growing, but are just black remnants on the oldest leaves). uv light should bannish the gw, and hopefully i can enjoy my tank for once.


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## ShaneSmith (Feb 15, 2004)

3foot 39 watts i guess. it is more than enough light especially considering its t5 tek system.


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## dhavoc (Mar 17, 2006)

yep more than enough light, i only have 3.15 wpg and my plants grow like crazy. the tek is a great light.


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