Lighting And Water Change Questions

[darkfool58]

Hi Guys

I finally took the plunge and got me tank put in got some angel fish and a cat fish .

couple of questions of help.

lighting i am thinking of putting on a timer so i dont accidentally leave on over night. anyone got a good rule of thumb for the timer?

Fish in cycling, if i am using tap water do i take my 25% water out of tank, then fresh tap water use interpet tape safe on it and put in tank, once a week?

Also the water testing kits is there one that is reusable? im guessing api kit but dont want to buy something that is a use one kit?

Thanks

Russell Lilley

 

[slimeneo]

Lighting, around 6 hours.

No, you'll need to do it more than once a week if you want your fish to survive. Get the API master kit (liquid), its generally cheaper online than in store. You have to do a water change if ammonia is ever above 0ppm or if nitrite is. It's harmful to fish.

 

[Aquascaper]

Have a thorough read of the fish-in cycling thread pinned on the forum which will take you through the process in detail.

As for lighting, anything between 6 - 10hrs a day depending on where the tank is situated (If I gets a lot of natural sunlight then reduce the lighting). If you have live plants then requirements need to be tailored to them.

 

[darkfool58]

Hi Guys

Fish in cycling, i correct in thinking if i use tap water i need watersafe the tap water before adding it to the tank but after removing my 25% of tank water?

Also lighting timer whats a good rule of thumb to have the on and off settings for light to come on and go off?

Thanks

Russ

realised repeat post, admin can you kill as cant find delete button.

 

[darkfool58]

Have a thorough read of the fish-in cycling thread pinned on the forum which will take you through the process in detail.

As for lighting, anything between 6 - 10hrs a day depending on where the tank is situated (If I gets a lot of natural sunlight then reduce the lighting). If you have live plants then requirements need to be tailored to them.

aquascaper can you give me a link or advise on the plant side of lighting never thought about that, i have a few in the tank

 

[Livewire88]

For keeping plants I have always found 8 hours of light to work best.

And if you work for a living it is a good ideal to have the light come on in the early afternoon so you get to look at the tank when you are at home in the late afternoon/evening.

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi Guys

Fish in cycling, i correct in thinking if i use tap water i need watersafe the tap water before adding it to the tank but after removing my 25% of tank water?

Also lighting timer whats a good rule of thumb to have the on and off settings for light to come on and go off?

Thanks

Russ

realised repeat post, admin can you kill as cant find delete button.

I've merged your two threads, Russ, so all your info is in one place for you

There are two ways of dechlorinating. You can either;

dechlorinate each bucket, before you add it to the tank. If you do it this way, you only need dechlorinator for the amount of water you're putting back in; the actual dosage varies from make to make.

or, you can add enough dechlorinator for the whole tank volume to the tank, and add your new water straight in. This is probably a method best suited for large tanks, or if you're using a hose to refill.


Lights can go pretty much on and off when you like, as long as the amount of time they're on for is right. For instance, the tanks in my living room have the lights on from around 2 - 9PM, because that's when I'm there to appreciate them. The tank in my bedroom doesn't have the light turned on until about 6 or 7PM, because I like to have the light on when I'm in bed reading, usually until about midnight

 

[Essjay]

For fish-in cycling, which is what you are doing for the next few weeks, you need to change as much water as often as necessary to keep your ammonia and nitrite down to well below 0.25, preferably zero. If you don't have a test kit yet, change 50% every day then you can refine the amount and frequency once you have the test kit and know how fast ammonia and nitrite are rising.

25% a week is for after the cycle has finished not for fish-in cycling