I was wondering if there would be any adverse effects on my plants if I were to leave my lights on for 9 days straight while I am not at college for spring break?
Constant Lighting
- Thread starter cmj15
- Start date
I second the timer. Walmart here has their digital timers for like 5 bucks. I think your biggest issue is going to accelerated algae growth. Depending on what lighting you have the aquarium size and the type of plants which are in the aquarium. You could possibly burn the plants with long exposure to high intensity lighting.
pretty low light set up and there is not much algae growth now and i run lights for about 12-14hrs a day anyways, there is anacharis, crypt wendtii, and java moss
Most [plants stop photosynthesizing after 12 hours, getting ready for their night time period when they actually use O2 and produce CO2. You'll notice most stem plants at the end of the day will have their leaves fold upwards closer to the stem. If they don't get a rest period, they stop their growing period. If they're not growing, the algae is. I won't even consider a planted tank without a timer. You want the regular light period.
Not only will it cause algae outbreaks, it will stress the fish out a ton. With them used to getting 9 hours of darkness, 9 days worth of light will keep them really stressed.
I agree with the timer, but I have to warn against the super cheap analog timers from walmart. I had one that didn't switch on fully, only giving my lights half power, which burnt out my ballast before I was able to catch it. Spend a few extra bucks and buy a digital timer.
well nine days later and my plants look way better than when i left, and the algae is minimal so my clown pleco will have something to snack on