Lighting.

[Whisper Odinsky]

the only thing stopping me from firing up the new tank we scored at a yardsale, is the fact we do not have a light or heater for it.
where ever this tank is going, be sure that there is plenty of natural lighting from outside.
I do plan on having live plants.
Is the lighting only plants, and keeping algae levels down, or does that just like, make no sense?
Or is the light important for fish life alltogether?
We have no issues on going out to buy a light for the tank, its just a matter of can i go fire this thing up now, or just wait until we have everything we need. (and that heater is something we need too..)
any thoughts and ideas are greatly appreciated.

 

[gadazobe]

The light is for the plants, not the fish. Natural light is enough for fish but not for the plants.

 

[Whisper Odinsky]

thankyou!

 

[Kossy]

Yes if you want your plants to thrive then you need a light. If you don't have a light then they will soon die.

 

[MountGuppy]

you really want a heater to

 

[Kossy]

I don't know a great deal about plants. However I know that a heater will help differnt types of plants just like with fish. Plants also live in either coldwater/tropical as well like fish.l But they most importantly do need a light

 

[devinf]

The fish will be fine without a light, but I once had to go without light in one of my tanks for nearly a month. It was next to a window that received lots of light (also grew plants in the area). After awhile the colors seemed to fade, particularly on my red-tail shark and swordtails.

So, not saying 'no', but all the same, I think they just look that much better with light.

Devin

 

[Kossy]

It also depends on the type of fish you want...some fish like the betta prefer a tropical tank but due to being kept in jars they are 'used' to living in colder water. Therefore you don't necessary need a heater depends on fish. I reccomend getting plants (Bettas love them if you want one). So you should get a light if you want plants. Like ive said before

 

[smb]

As far as needing a light to live? No, fish don't need it.

As far as needing a light to be happy and to thrive? Yes, you need a light.

Plants have to have light but it sounds like you don't have them yet.

Per your question tho, Whisper Odinsky. It's perfectly fine to get the fish and wait a few days to get the light strip. The first day or two when I get a new fish I don't even turn the light on so the fish can feel safe so what you're doing is no different than what I do everytime I buy a fish.

Of course, this tank isn't cycled yet so you have a few weeks before you add any fish anyways.