Lighting stay on times

[mike ling]

How long should one set the timer on a reef tank to stay on ? I had my set to turn on from 6am to 8pm. I have since reduced the hrs to 7am to 5pm.

Will reducing my lighting hrs from 14 to 10 help in controlling Algae ?

[tendar]

Usally 8-12 hours is enough time for the lights to be on.
Reducing the photo period will help some in the amount of algea growing but will not stop it.
How long has your tank been up?
What kind of water are you using tap,RO, RO-DI?
Give some info on your setup like tank, lights,skimmer or not and kind, other filteration.
With some of this info maybe able to find your source of algea and help control it.

[jpmulhol]

Is it detrimental to have the lights on for longer than 12 hours?

[tendar]

I would not go over 14 hours aday.

[Daddypugg]

I leave mine for about 8 hrs, but I like to have mine on from 3pm to 11pm that way I can enjoy them when I am there

[deansreef]

10 hrs is a general time for the main lighting and actintic on 1 hour brfore and 1 hour after

[binayak]

8 hours is the best.Thats the usual photo period in the wild