[JRMott]

Ever since re-booting my tank 3 months ago, I've been running my lighting for 8 hours a day. From what I've read, anything over 10 hours is of little benefit to the plants as they can only photosynthesize so long.

I'm thinking of increasing the daily photo period by half an hour each week until I'm at 10 hours.

My only concern is that I've got some BBA and diatoms right now, so perhaps I should leave the lighting alone until these are resolved/gone.

Can anyone think of the benefits or drawbacks to increasing my photo period from 8 hours?

 

[zergling]

Fix your algae issues before even considering increasing your photoperiod. Otherwise, you're making things harder.

Some folks, like myself, even do very well with just 6 hours per day.

Benefit - more time for photosynthesis, more oxygen on the tank, and possibly more plant growth.

Drawback - more time for algae to grow, more plant trimming maintenance (gets tiresome for those with super intense lighting)

 

[ddrfreak_tung]

I've ran my tanks for 8hrs for months, then I experimented w increasing the light n I end up w some algae, I didn't feel like rebalancing the tank for the new photoperiod so back to 8 it went. I see it as if it's not broken why fix it.

 

[Jeff5614]

Benefit - longer viewing period to enjoy your tank.

Drawback - additional electrical usage?