aquarium lights

just wondering, if i have nothing in my tank except live rock and a few hitchikers do i need to keep my lights on?

 

Depends on what is alive on the LR and if you want it to grow. I would say that you may want to leave on for 6 hours if you are beyond your cycle period to maintain anything that is dependant upon the lights. With that said if you do not have a light that can create the necessary spectrum for life then I would not worry about it.

I guess what I am saying is that I would need more info on what you ultimately want to do and where you are in that process.

 

ultimately what i want to do is have a reef tank with 1 fish (8 gallon tank) adn i've had the tank for maybe a week or two...the hitchikers are a snail and what looks like really small featherduster things (not sure)

 

Feather dusters don't care about the light. It may affect the snail not having it on.

 

Light is the key component to a marine eco system. IMHO, your lights should be on for a minimum of 6 hours with LR and a snail or 2 .....8-10 hours once you add livestock and coral (this also depends on the type and wattage of light you have). Best of luck!

 

Keep in mind also coraline algae will spread faster with lights on. What kind of lights do you have?