Lights On Or Off

[mark4880]

Could be a stupid question but when I go to bed and when I go to work in the day I turn the tank lights off. I have plastic plants and 5 neons, hopefully getting 4 sunset platys at the weekend.

Is this right or should the light be on all the time. Sorry if its stupid, lol. X

 

[2101]

I have my lights on a timer plug, 10 hours a day light, they come on at 10am and go off at 8pm. So even if i have to go out and such or I'm not back in time they are looked after and have a set routine. After all you are trying to imitate day light. Also an hour after my tank lights go out as they are in the main living space and we will obviously have room lights on i cover them with a dark sheet.

 

[micko]

I have my lights set up on a timer, they're only a couple of pound and you will find your fish get into a routine with them. I haven't touched the lights on some of my tanks for years with regards to turning them on or off.
My lights are on 6 hours a day.

 

[fluttermoth]

If you don't have real plants, you don't actually need a light at all; the fish do just fine in the ambient light from the room, so just switch the lights on when you want to watch the fish. If you have them on all the time, or for too long, you'll just get a lot of algae, plus fish do need some darker time to sleep.

If you ever decide to get real plants, you will need to have the lights on for 6 or 8 hours a day; you can time this so the lights are on when you're there, it doesn't have to follow a 'natural' cycle; for instance, in my bedroom tank, the lights are on from around 6 in the evening to midnight or 2am, because that's when I'm there to look at it

 

[coldcazzie]

I also have a timer, but I time mine so that they are on when I am most likely to be staring in the tank (in the evening, after the kids go to bed).

So my downstairs tanks lights go off at 10pm, and the one in my bedroom goes off at 10.30pm. The downstairs tanks currently each have 8 hours light, so they come on at 2, and the bedroom tank is currently only on 6 hours of light cuz it's still new, so it comes on at 4.30. However, now it's a bit more settled I think I'm going to up the lighting to 7 hours, so then it'll come on at 3.30.

If I want to adjust the times, I make them come on earlier instead of going off later.

 

[mattyd1701]

heres a quote i left for a post about splitting light times

you can get blue led light sets
heres the one i use they have a volt selector on them to dim the brightness of the lights and they have a self-adhesive backing which just stick to the top of my lid

eBay

i have my main light and the LED Strips set on 2 timers the main light comes on about 7:30am is on all day till about 8:30pm at 8:30pm the main light goes off the blue led comes on and then the blue led goes off at 7:30am and the main light comes back on then works well i have had no problems with any algae and gives the tank that moonlight effect during the night and my fish don't mind it at all .

might be something worth looking into?

you might want to look into the blue(or what ever colour you like) LEDs gives that moon light effect when the lights are off during the night and looks nice

 

[mark4880]

Thanks for the advice guys, the other thing I need to ask is that one of my neon's have died. It was a pregnant female which was acting very strange, she was acting like she was about to die. And this morning I cant find her anywhere. I have moved the bogwood slightly and looked in the fake plants but no joy. I assume she is dead, but what do I do leave her or pull everything out and find her. Would the others have eaten her?

 

[mattyd1701]

Thanks for the advice guys, the other thing I need to ask is that one of my neon's have died. It was a pregnant female which was acting very strange, she was acting like she was about to die. And this morning I cant find her anywhere. I have moved the bogwood slightly and looked in the fake plants but no joy. I assume she is dead, but what do I do leave her or pull everything out and find her. Would the others have eaten her?

i was told at the pet shop when my first betta died that fish give off Ammonia as soon as they die and you may end up with a slight Ammonia spike (dont know if this is true as the information came from a employee of Pets At Home which are crap but fish decompose same as humans and we give off gas when we decompose so i cant see why fish would be any different) but if its true i would have a look move some rocks/bogwood/plants etc and look for her even check your filter incase shes been sucked in there maybe? if you cant find her and she is dead most likely your other fish would eat her as they will eat anything they can get but you would be better off finding her

 

[mark4880]

Ive just picked up the bogwood and its no where to be seen. Guess they have eaten her.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

neons like a mature tank dont be suppised if you lose in a month or so if your tank is newer then 6 months

 

[mark4880]

The others look great and very bright, swimming around and hiding at times in little gaps they have found in and the under bogwood. I rang the shop and he said same not to worry it can be part and parcel if my stage but doesn't indicate any water problems or anything, and to chill out. Lol.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It is a true statement that the neons are a bit more sensitive, they do prefer a tank that is a few months old. Ammonia poisoning and things of that nature usually are slow to show up. Some fish can be added sooner to tanks than others (even in a "fully cycled" tank). There is a lot more that goes into a fish tank than just the bacteria colony that processes ammonia and nitrite. You are creating an entire ecosystem inside the tank, and some fish can adapt to an immature system more than others.

 

[CezzaXV]

Are you sure she was pregnant? A bloated belly can be a symptom of disease.

 

[mark4880]

Not sure went to my LFS today and tested the water looking for new fish and the ammonia has gone up to .50, not good maybe that's why my fish aren't doing much. They have given me some media from their tank and a bottle of bacteria to get it down. It's classic new tank syndrome, I've done a 40% W/C then added the new media and bacteria. Going to leave it a week then re-test hopefully its come back to normal ready for more fish.

 

[mattyd1701]

the ammonia spike could be because of a dead fish like you said you couldn't find the female she might have died which is whats caused your ammonia to spike??

the mature media they give you will help a lot along with the water change the bottle of bacteria is not really needed if you keep up with the water changes but it might help speed things along

and if i was you if your going to leave it a week i would have the water tested on day 3-4 and see if the water is actually improving rather than waiting for a week to find out it has not made a difference at all not saying the water wont improve but its better to be safe and know your on the right path if you get what im saying

hope you get everything sorted out soon bud and hope you have some happy little fish