How long should i keep my lights on?

[kingfisher62]

I have a fairly new 14g biocube w/ 48w pc lighting . So far I have GSP's and zoas. Since i am still excited about the new tank I have been keeping lights on all day 7:00 am till 11:00 pm . I realize this is probably too much.
What sort of lighting schedule do you recommend?

[starmanres]

Think about lighting hours to be what the animals would receive in the wild. Most times of the year they receive between 12-15 hours of light.

Now remember that this is not 100% light. The sun rises and sets providing less amounts of light and early afternoon is the most intense. The nice part is that you can set your lighting around when it's best for you to view the fish. My lights begin to come on at about 9:00 am. I have three stages of lights from my T-5's then to my VHO's and then my MH's during the "Heat of the day". They then stage back off during the evening hours and finally turn off at 10:00 pm.

This schedule provides me with prime viewing time in the evenings and as I get ready to shut things down and sleep, so are my fish.

Anything in excess of 15 hours really doesn't provide your night creatures time to look for food and take care of the tank.

Work the lighting around your schedule to have the most time looking over your babies.

:P

Robert

[drummereef]

I run a 12hr cycle with my pc's. The actinics come on 1 hour before/after the daylights in the cycle.