Lighting

[martyn21uk]

I'm still stocking my 40l tank. So far I'm up to 6 black widow tetras, 3 peppered corys and 3 albino corys. My stupid tank was all off of one plug which meant up you couldn't have the light on a timer. I was struggling to give them a consistent amount of light so today I've opened up the case and re-wired it so the light runs from a different plug to the heater and filter.
Any advice on how long I should set the light to be on for and if in relation to daylight hours?

 

[mlawson]

I keep my tanks on for about 10 hours. You can keep them on for any time from 6 to 14 hours. Any more and you may have algae problems. If you have multiple tubes you can replecate a sun rise and sunset.

 

[martyn21uk]

Many thanks for that. Only a 40l so just one bulb. Can't wait to become an expert and get a huge tank and take over the world!

Now set to come on at 1400 and go off at 2400. I'm actually really proud of myself for re-wiring, I hope I don't burn the house down. I kind of know what I'm doing but water and 240 volts don't always go down too well!

 

[paul_219]

Well i dont have a timer. But i calculate them on my watch. I turn jsut for 4 hours then i turn them on. 4 hours off during the afternoon.

 

[martyn21uk]

Sadly I'm not there all afternoon to watch the time otherwise I wouldn't have needed the timer?!? It's getting home at different times every day that takes away any chance of a routine for them so thats why i did the timer business.