Split Photoperiod?
 

So my tanks are on an 8 hour photoperiod, but I rarely get to see my tanks with the light on since I leave home for school early and get home pretty late. I was wondering if I could set the timers to turn on, say, 6:00am turn off around 10:00 then back on around 4:00 and off again at 8:00pm.

Would this have ill effect on either my fish or plants, or is it the same an 8 straight hour photoperiod?

Yes, this could work, but you could also just have an 8 hour photoperiod from 4 pm until midnight.

It's better to have just one photoperiod. Is there a reason you can't adjust the from like 4-midnight? or 2-10?

Oh yeah! I hadnt thought about that. I mean, there would be a little natural light during the day but not enough to really affect the plants! Thanks for the idea!

I've been doing 3:00 to 10:00 for a while now. I get fast enough growth with 7 hours. The CO2 turns on at 2:00 and shuts off at 9:00.

I go 5p-12a on my big tank. My Betta gets turned on 8-10a, then 5-11p to accomodate my daughter's schedule :)