timing of lights

[debiasir]

I have just bought a light timer (cost £2.99 from the supermarket)

I have set it for the lights to come on at 7:15 am and to go off at noon for 30 minutes then on again untill 6

the tank has no live plants does this sound ok to stop algea growing due to too much light.

gonna get a few more for the moon lighting on my two tanks

 

[CathyG]

I have just bought a light timer (cost £2.99 from the supermarket)

I have set it for the lights to come on at 7:15 am and to go off at noon for 30 minutes then on again untill 6

the tank has no live plants does this sound ok to stop algea growing due to too much light.

gonna get a few more for the moon lighting on my two tanks

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If I were you, I would either add plenty of fast growing real plants or reduce the lighting. You don't say what wattage your lights have, but light+nutrients (Nitrates) will feed algae unless competed for by real plants. Even for heavily planted tanks, 9 hours a day lighting is often advised (considering heavily planted tanks are usually additionally fertilised, and have CO2 injected)

 

[debiasir]

thanks

i dont know the wattage. the tank icontains to fancy tailed goldies and they have eaten all the plants i have tried to put in there. so i though giving the light a break during the day may help stop algea

 

[glolite]

Hi, what I do is to have 5 hours of lights on then 2 hours siesta then 5 hours of lights on again. Apparently, the plants recognise 10 hours of light and keep growing but the algae, being lower plant forms, cannot deal with the 2 hour break and die off. Works for me.