# keeping lights on all the time? Good? Bad?



## jblasto (Jan 4, 2013)

Is there a benefit or bad effect to leaving the aquarium lights all the time (24 hours a day) to the plants in an aquarium? 

I just planted my tank and was thinking since they aren't established yet it might help for them to be lit 24 hours a day. Now, since I don't know too much about aquarium plants I wonder if this is appropriate? Thanks.


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

With plants, they need a night time period for photosynthesis to take place. They take in O2 at night and take in CO2 in the daylight. Leaving the lights on all the time is not good and will promote algae growth. Here's a bit of a clue: most of the fish and plants are tropical. That means they originate in the tropics where there is 12 hrs of daylight and 12 hrs of night. Personally I leave my lights on 10 hours a day.


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

24 hr. lights =bad. Bad for plants (see above comment) and bad for fish, who need "sleep"time to regenerate tissue, etc, like any other complex life form. Only thing that would find it good is algae. Try to re-create the conditions the plants &fish would experience in their native environment, not just with lights, either, but with heat, ph, plants, etc. It will make your fish/plants less stressed, which = healthier fish/plants. Oh, and never, ever go into a dark room and flip on the tank lights. Scares the heck out of the fish. I light the room first, gradually, one lamp at a time, then turn on fish lights when everyone is up &about. At night, I reverse the process.


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## weedkiller (Nov 18, 2012)

its already been said.... do we need to say more?


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