Do Aquarium Lights Need To Be Turned Off?

Aquarium light is important for plants and for us to see fish, but there may be some people who leave their aquarium lights on all night long. Do aquarium fish need light at night or can we turn it off? Fish do not need light and should be turned off at night.

Leaving the lights on can stress the fish as they need a period of darkness to sleep. Too much light will also cause algae to grow quickly and make the aquarium look dirty. So the short answer is no, don't keep the aquarium light on. But what if you want to do it? There are several important factors that you should know. In this article, we'll explain everything you need to know about aquarium lighting.

Light at night causes stress to aquarium fish

Not turning off the lights at night for extended periods of time can cause stress to all aquarium fish. The aquarium should be kept in as natural a state as possible. This is done to provide the best conditions for the fish. Remember that we are responsible for fish health

Turning the lights on and off is done to mimic the day and night cycle. When fish don't get "night," they will be stressed and show symptoms such as lack of appetite, hiding constantly, and fighting with each other. When you let this go on long enough, they can even die from the above symptoms. You can immediately notice these symptoms, but there will be another problem that cannot be ignored early, namely algae.

Algae

Algae will spike if it gets too much light. Algae will be able to compete with all live plants in the aquarium, especially when there are a lot of nutrients available. You might think that having live (fast-growing) plants in your aquarium will solve this problem. But algae will eventually overpower all aquatic plants. Therefore, whenever you see algae, make sure to reduce the amount of light. This is an effective way to fight algae in the aquarium.

Are you using CO2 injection?

CO2 is needed by aquatic plants. Aquarists usually install a CO2 injection in one of their aquariums, which only adds pressurized CO2 when the lights are on. This means that CO2 will run out faster when the light is on 24 hours per day than 10 or 12 hours alone.

Live plants also need periods of darkness. Therefore, it is important to turn off the aquarium lights at night. During this period photosynthesis stops and contributes to the day and night cycle that all plants have.

How many hours are the lights left on each day?

When the tank is new, it's a good idea to keep the lights on for about 8 to 10 hours per day. This is the average lighting length and you will be able to see the effect in the aquarium. If nothing happens after a few weeks (no algae spikes), you can increase the exposure duration. Do this gradually in 1 hour increments. You can do this for a while, but you have to stop at 12 hours of light per day. This is the ideal maximum duration for all aquariums.

When you are just starting out and notice that there is a lot of algae in your aquarium, you may be giving out too much light. This could mean that you left the light on for too long, but it could also mean that your light intensity is too bright. Find out what the problem is and fix it. What if you don't have live plants in the aquarium? Then the light can only trigger the growth of algae. This brings us to the next question, how important is light to fish?

What do fish get from aquarium light?

Fish don't really need light. They can easily navigate and find their way without it. Light is only to help us take care of our fish, grow our live plants, and make sure the aquarium is fine and healthy. This means that in theory you can have an aquarium without light. But what's the point? You need to see your fish right?

What you can do, and this is something that some people in this hobby do, is turn on the light whenever you are near an aquarium. This way, you can save electricity (even if LED lights don't use that much power). Many people only turn on their aquarium light in the morning before work and turn it on again after they get home. This is possible as long as you don't forget to turn off the lights and the total duration of the exposure is not too high.

Light consistency is important

As we try to keep all conditions as natural as possible for our fish, it is important to remember that the aquarium lights must be turned off and back on on a predictable/regular schedule. This can best be achieved by using a timer.

This timer is easy and simple to use. You can buy them at local stores or online stores. We highly recommend it if you don't have one yet. Since you have a timer, you will never forget to turn off the lights at night. In this way, the occurrence of fish being exposed to intense light day and night due to your negligence will not happen again.

Next, you will notice that your fish will get used to this schedule as well. This also applies to meal times. Fish will expect to get food at certain periods of the day. The automatic feeder also works with this principle, where this tool will drop food at certain hours according to the set.

Imitate the cycle of sunrise and sunset

There are aquarium lights out there that can mimic the sunrise and sunset cycles using gradual increases and decreases in brightness and light temperature (light color). This more luxurious system has two advantages. First, it looks much more awesome and beautiful.

The second is a less stressful environment for fish. You may notice that your fish are a little surprised when the lights come on in the morning. Yes, they will get used to it very quickly, but you will see them rushing to find a place to hide. Using light that mimics sunrises and sunsets will prevent such reactions and reduce stress. This device is sold exclusively in online stores and is usually labeled as the 'Sunset Sunrise LED Aquarium Light.'

That's our little discussion about aquarium lighting. Now it's clear that you shouldn't leave the lights on all the time because it can harm fish health and damage plants, and that will definitely make your electricity bill go up!

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