Tank Light

 my new tank and cabinet was delivered last night    and I have been busy doing as much as I can towards getting it ready.  I'm quite handy with a screwdriver!  I've washed the gravel and its sitting in a water filled bucket in the garden. Tomorrow my son (the 'fishy' one!) is coming to finish putting it together and set it up for me.

Do I leave the aquarium light on whilst the water is getting to the appropriate state, or wait until I have the fish.  also, how long do I have the light on for?  Is it dawn until dusk, which depends on the time of year, or is there a rule of thumb to go by.  So much to learn and I'm sooo excited

Leave the tank lights off if you will be doing a fishless cycle as light + ammonia = algae.

If you will be planting the tank and using the plants to remove the ammonia made by the fish, it depends on the plants. Some need more light than others.

If you don't plan on having any live plants, then 6 hours a day, at the same time every day because fish expect a constant on/off. More than 6 hours a day with no live plants will just result in lots of algae.