how much lighting for cichlids?

[JackEmerson]

Hi,

I am wondering how much light Africans should have. This is my current lighting.

day: lights set on dim
Early night - lights set on full (so we can enjoy the tank when I am home from work)
bed time - lights completely off

Does the above sound reasonable? Is there any reason to have the lights on full during the day?

 

[DJRansome]

They don't need any light at all unless the room they are in is dark as night all day. I only turn on the lights when actually viewing the tank, to minimize algae.

 

[Deadeye]

I did the same with my africans. Unless you are trying to grow plants, ambient light is usually enough.

 

[dmyersWv]

I use a little more light to get some alge growth. Alot of the fish I breed love to eat it.

 

[Stephen St.Clair]

I'm not a plant guy & don't particularly like a lot of light shining down into the tanks.
Just enough light to bring out the fish's colors.
Here's what a cheap dimly lit Fluval Aquasky did for an African setup I once kept.

 

[dmyersWv]

Lights are definitely for our viewing and plants.

 

[jjohnwm]

Yeah, the fish certainly don't need any more light than you would normally have in a room indoors. But algae, so hated by so many, is a very natural and healthy addition to an aquarium if kept in check. Aren't a lot of African cichlids fond of eating it? I thought that many of them were adapted for scraping algae and biofilm off of rocks?

IMHO, a nice growth of algae on rocks and wood is far more attractive than a sterile moonscape of spotless hard decor. You'll never see that anywhere in nature; why not let it happen in your tank?

 

[dmyersWv]

Mbuna, tropheus and many others love the alge. Really helpful for breeding as the babies will always have a food source. Haps/Peacocks won't touch the stuff.

 

[Joshuakahan]

Hi,

I am wondering how much light Africans should have. This is my current lighting.

day: lights set on dim
Early night - lights set on full (so we can enjoy the tank when I am home from work)
bed time - lights completely off

Does the above sound reasonable? Is there any reason to have the lights on full during the day?

I run kessils for shimmer and an LED strip to make the fish pop, but when I’m not watching them, I leave the strip off and the kessils on low

 

[DJRansome]

The OP's question is a year old.

IME 10-12 hours would create algae, unless you have plants that need the light and can out compete the algae. I prefer to leave the tank lights off except when viewing. The cichlids do not need more than the amount of light that comes through the windows in a standard room for a healthy, algae-free environment.