andrecarneiro wrote:
> All depends on where your fishtank is, is there any direct sunlight ?
> Lights are for the viewers ,but if the tank is planted then see how much
> and how long your plants require. Most plants need 7-10 hours of
> appropriate levels of light aswell as complete darkness.Try to mimic the
> rise and set of the sun as much as possible. But limit the light to less
> time on if fish are stressed or algae grows. Too much light will encourage
> the algae to grow on and kill the plants. Out of habit i normally switch
> lights on when i get home from work (roughly 17:00) and switch off in the
> evenings around 23:00 , but throughout the day there is natural (undirect)
> light in the room which i keep my tank, and i dont keep live plants.

There is a window near by that can give direct sunlight or indirect if the shades stay shut... and I do have a hardy plant. But if it means to keep the temp down I can keep the light off. I did want to eventually have a planted aquarium but I can always get a bigger tank for that. I'll take your advice and see how the temp stays if I just turn the light on in the evening. It should be fine during the day with the light off. C: Thanks Again!

depends on the live plants...most live plants need moderate to high/strong lighting...if you have live plants, either you can list them here and we'll help you or you can google the best lighting for the live plants

as for the fish, fish can live in most any type of lighting, but usually a moderate amount of lighting, say 8-10 hours per day is enough for the fish

as for natural lighting or sunlight, this is all fine and good, but you must be aware that certain types of algae will grow, and unless you are going for an all algae tank plus fish, you must prune the algae or keep it under control or else the algae will grow quickly, taking over your entire tank...with some algae, you can purchase fish which will eat specific types of algae...key with sunlight is algae growth and key with the growth is control

my best advice for you is, attempt to mimic the natural surroundings of the live species in your tank, if your fish require a lot of light provide it same goes for the live plants and invertebrates...it all depends on the living inhabitants...try to strike a balance between aesthetics and the needs of the fish, if you can achieve this, you will have a very nice tank

yasherkoach, also you said to mimic the surroundings of my fish's natural habitat. .. I already bought everything and set the tank up... It isn't very natural for any fish I don't think. All I want is maybe some mollies.