I have a 75 gal reef aquarium. do i have to leave the lights on for 24 hours a day?

i have 2 flower pot corals, elegant coral, 2 sebae anemones. hammer coral, open brain coral and a couple of clownfish, damsels and regal tangs.

I have a 75 gal reef aquarium. do i have to leave the lights on for 24 hours a day?
In researching lighting for reef aquariums, most answers ranged from between 10 to 12 hours of light. One site went as low as 8 hours, another as high as 14 hours.



"Soft corals generally require less light, while those hard corals that live by photosynthesis need more intense light."



For lighting requirements for reef aquariums, here are some articles and websites that may be helpful.



"Lighting the Reef Aquarium"



http://www.aquarium-design.com/reef/ligh...



This site specializes in marine aquarists:



Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine



http://www.advancedaquarist.com/



Reefkeeping:



http://www.reefs.org/



Lighting for a 72-gallon reef tank:



http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/12/...



That link has a more complicated light set-up:



Lighting consists lighting is two 250watt 10K Coral Vue metal halides, and four 65 watt PC actinics. The schedule is as follows: 10am two of the PC's turn on, 10:30am the other two turn on. At 1pm the metal halides turn on and stay on for 6 hours per day until 7pm, PC's stay running for 12 hours (10pm and 10:30pm). All the lights are on digital timers to make sure the lighting schedule is precise. The metal halides and power compacts are on magnetic ballasts. Two 4.5" cooling fans are on the entire time the lights are.



Lighting for the Reef Tank



http://www.netpets.com/fish/reference/sr...



An alternative perspective: (focuses on water, but could be combined with your lighting requirements)



Water Flow More Important for Corals Than Light



http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/11/...



Saltwater Aquarium Lighting - Coral Lighting:



http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/lightin...



Aquarium Lighting - Section on Saltwater Reef Aquariums:



http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/gener...



excerpt from last link:



"Do not assume that all corals and invertebrates require high levels of light; some varieties have adapted to living in low-light conditions, since varied water depths in natural coral reefs cause light spectrum and intensity to vary accordingly."



Good luck!
Reply:No, 10 -14 hours and no more if possible
Reply:Kepp your actinics on 12 hours a day and your daylight bulbs on 8-9 hours a day in the middle of the actinic cycle. This will help simulate dusk and dawn.
Reply:No, you shouldn't leave the lights on 24 hours a day. The goal is to mimic nature, so a 14-16 hour light cycle should be used.



It's best if you can stage the lighting too, where you bring on one set for a couple of hours, then full lighting for 10 hours, the shut down one set and leave just one set for another couple of hours.
Reply:no, the ocean isn't light all the time, all creatures need darkness to a point. Also leaving the lights on will increase your algae and make life harder for you
Reply:definitely not. the sun doesn't shine 24 hours a day in nature, so the corrals don't need that much light, and if you keep the lights on 24/7, your poor fishes wouldn't be able to get any rest/sleep at all.
Reply:If you never turn the lights off in a reef tank, then many of your corals' polyps will never open to feed. You will notice that your corals are dying soon. Buy a timer, they are pretty cheap, set it, and forget it.
Reply:No, you don't I have an aquarium too, and I leave the light off, and only turn it on when I'm feeding them.
Reply:I would say no because in a natural environment none of the species experience 24 hours of sunlight.