Quote:
Originally Posted by robertprice
At the May Meeting of BAS, as I was purchasing algae cure, I had some discussion at the table about how much light Tropical fish need. I mentioned that mine get 10-12 hours a day, as that is what wild ones get in the tropics. A wee known member disagreed with me and maintained that 5 is enough. It is certainly not. Virtually every reference online agrees with me. The lowest I could find was at least 8 hours. This is a vital piece of information, especially for beginning aquarists.
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Reading your post I tend to agree with the guy that said 5 hours are enough especially when taking into consideration the fact that you are battling an alrgae problem as stated by your post. There is certainly no standard as to how much light your fish "need" per day. Unless you keep your fish in pitch-black basement, some light is required to allow the fish to differentiate between day and night cycles. If your tank is located in the bedroom, hallway or living room that has windows and yours is a fish only setup the fish themselves
do not require any more light then there already is coming though the windows. The daylight, both in its quality and quantity is more the sufficient for a fish-only setup.
It is actually not natural to have a fluorescent bulb over your fish for 10-12 hours a day. The fish found in the hobby come from all sorts of places on earth. Some come from areas where there is a lot of light and most actually come from places well hidden from the sun rays. Unlike lizards, plants or corals, fish don't need to bask in the sun for extended periods of time.
It is us, human beings, that decided to put a bright light fixture over fish tanks to make them more pleasing to the eye. The light is what makes the colors "pop" and "highlights" our aquatic creations in our homes.
Assuming you still have your alae problem and you don't have live plants I recommend multiple water changes along with drastic cuts in light exposure. Many individuals on other online fora even cover their plantless tanks with dark fabric to starve the algae. I also recommend you "skip meals" for your fish and when feeding do so sparingly. Overfeeding and poor husbandry techniques are major causes of algae blooms. The best way to remove algae is to remove its root causes. Hope this helps.