How long or late can you run lights??

[bamboofish]

Hi All,
how long can I keep lights on at night without harming fish or plants. I have the tank in the family room, where we spend our evenings and we like watching the fish. I thought I would put some lights on different timers. Then I can have dimmer light later in the evening.
Any thoughts on the subject??

[fischkopp]

12 hours total lighting, it doesnt really matter when the lights go on and off. If you want to enjoy your fish in the morning and at night you can also add a sieste, lights off for 2-4 hours, in the middle of the day. I run 6am-12pm and 16pm to 22pm.

[Aquaviewer]

Anything longer than 12 hrs is a recipe for algae.  I like to keep my lights on for 11 hrs straight, and to enjoy the fish in the evening I have opted to have the lights come on later, so they run from 9:30 to 9 set to come on and off in 1/2 hr stages.  However I have put two 13 watt PC fixtures in the canopy and run actinic to give the moon light effect.  I have these come on at 9 and leave them on until 10PM so we can still see the fish swimming around a bit longer.

[beowulf]

Anything longer than 12 hrs is a recipe for algae.  I like to keep my lights on for 11 hrs straight, and to enjoy the fish in the evening I have opted to have the lights come on later, so they run from 9:30 to 9 set to come on and off in 1/2 hr stages.  However I have put two 13 watt PC fixtures in the canopy and run actinic to give the moon light effect.  I have these come on at 9 and leave them on until 10PM so we can still see the fish swimming around a bit longer.

totally agree.

I have mine come on around 11am and go off around 9:30 pm as I tend to watch and work on them most in the evening.