Lights How Long On

[moggy]

hi got myself a juwel 125 complete tank yesterday (secondhand) with a few tetras included few questions how long do i leave the twin lights on for a day? feeding twice a day only a small amount what the fish eat in 3 mins is this ok ?tempurture of 25c done second water readings they are as follows ph 7.6,kh 6+d, gh >16, no2 0 no3 5 are these ok ? hav'nt got a test kit for ammonia is it worth getting one ? sorry for all the ? but only just starting out

 

[dwarfgourami]

About 10-12 hours a day is fine for the lights; you may want to get a cheap timer from the hardware store to save you having to remember.

An ammonia test kit is definitely worth having.

 

[James007]

I'd recommend a timer as well. Not only does it mean you can safely forget about it but it also ensure some consistancy for the fish and plants.

Split it into two shifts eg. 4-5 hours in the morning and 4-5 hours in the evening so as to give them a bit of a break in between.

Go an get yourself a decent test kit. You will then be able to monitor your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH in one kit for about £20.

 

[George Farmer]

Unless you are growing live plants then leave the lights off until you are viewing the tank i.e. in the evening. Fish aren't fussed about lots of light and you'll get less algae.

 

[Neal]

In my tank upstairs I leave my light on about 14 hours a day, I have a hillstream loach in there who thrives off all the algae it produces, so it's fine. However in my main tank, at night I sometimes turn the kitchen light off for a couple of hours to let them sleep, then turn it back on again.

Neal

 

[pokagon55]

I have no plants so I have the light on for about eight hours total. The lights are on a timer which makes it easy to remember to shut them off.

 

[chickenlady]

I had a lot of algae in my tank when I had the lights on from noon till 11pm so now I just switch them on at 5pm until 11pm - ish. Problem solved.