Lighting hours

[mlefev]

I have a couple ?'s about lighting.

for instance 1) If I forget to turn the light on my fish tank one day and the room is fairly well lit does that bother the fish? And what if I only turn it on for the 4 or 5 hours that I remembered it wasn't on, then off again when I go to bed?

and 2) if I'm going to be gone for a few days, is it better to leave the light on or off? I have 3 zebra danios, 3 neon tetras, 1 platy and one cory

[MiSo]

i'm pretty new to aqauariums but my gf left the light on for 2 days, and came back to find the tank had lots of algae.

best solution would be to buy a timer. i got one from walmart for $6. but i recently saw one on sale at walmart for $3.
they're not that expensive, might as well just pick one up.

[maxpayne_lhp]

and 2) if I'm going to be gone for a few days, is it better to leave the light on or off? I have 3 zebra danios, 3 neon tetras, 1 platy and one cory

I think the plants will be upset and you'll effect the fish's life cycle. Either to normal fish or to nocturnal ones...

[mlefev]

Well I can handle algae, just not dead fish..lol. A timer is a great idea. I always think of those for watering systems, but it might be a good way to go...especially since I have to be in and out of town for the next 2 weeks.

[Huugs]

Ive got a quick question bout it too. Ive got a tank with a couple of live plants but i think they mite not be doing that well because I only have a 15W tube in there. If I just whack on a few extra hours to the timer will that do the same as getting a higher wattage or extra bulb?

I cant put an extra one in because the hood only has one fixing for a tube.

[maxpayne_lhp]

I probably think no. You'd better adjust the wattage of it. 10-16 hours a day for lighting is ideal and 0.01-0.02 w per 1 cm sq is ideal. So, put more until the fig fits with your tank's water surface.

[MyraVan]

Originally Posted by Huugs

Ive got a quick question bout it too. Ive got a tank with a couple of live plants but i think they mite not be doing that well because I only have a 15W tube in there. If I just whack on a few extra hours to the timer will that do the same as getting a higher wattage or extra bulb?

I cant put an extra one in because the hood only has one fixing for a tube.

Yup, Maxpayne is right. Adding more hours won't work, you need to add more wattage. The hoods I use also have only one place to attach a bulb. You can add more though. One one tank I have two ordinary T8 tubes attached to the top of the hood. There was one set of holes in the side of the hood, so we ignored those and drilled two sets of holes in the top. You can buy new starters for the bulbs, so once you've drilled the holes installing the new bulbs is easy.

In another tank we ignored the one set of holes on the side of the hood and installed a power compact flourescent in the top. The compact flourescent bulbs are the way to go to get lots of light into a small place.

[Huugs]

I must be doing something wrong. Using the figure 0.1 W per sq cm for a tank that is 60*30 it comes out as 180W. Is this truly right? It seems like a lot especially as Ive only got a 15W tube in there.

[maxpayne_lhp]

Well, sorry per 1cm sq of water surface. Sorry I wasn't clear... :P

[TheOldSalt]

He understood. That's what he used to get 180 W from 1800 cm2.
Hmm.. that does sound kind of high.
Here in the USA we use a watts per gallon formula which takes surface area and depth into account. It's not exact, but it works well enough.

[MyraVan]

Hmmm. Maybe Max lost a decimal place somewhere... I think Huugs has a 13 US gallon tank. If Max's formula was supposed to be 0.01-0.02 w per 1 cm sq, this is 18-36W, which is a reasonable range for that size tank.

[maxpayne_lhp]

Yup, sorry 0.01 -0.02 (exactly 0.016-0.023) watts per a sq cm...
Note: I'll fix my errors on my previous post also!

[Gracie6363]

origional questions....

In my 2 tanks - one room gets lots of sun shine to where I actually close the blinds because of algae issues so if I dont turn on the light its not an issue.

the larger tank is in a darker room. But neither tank has live plants.

I went on vacation for a week. I just asked that the person feeding the fish come in and turn the lights on... feed the fish then take care of the rest of my critters (cats and squirrel) before turning the light back off. I left the blinds in both rooms open wide so that as much natural light could come in for the natural wake/rest cycle could take place.

Came home to only one casulty and it's cuz the room with my 10 gallon tank got really warm and lost a small pleco.