Lights In New Setup

[DanielG]

Hi all

I am finally getting my new and first tank!!!!!!!

Its a Rio 125 34 gallon, i intend to have a mixture of real plants and fakes with a sand substrate.

My worry is that most people seem to have there lights on for about 8 hours a day, seeing as i work all day if i put them on at 9 i would nt see the fish with the lights on!!! I was wondering if fish have a sense of what time it is and whether i could put the lights on later?

Also can you have the lights on longer or with algae overtake my tank?

P.S I aim to have this community of fish

1 x Male Betta

10 x Cardinals

6 x Corys

2 x Keyhole cyclids

and either 1 x bristlenose or 2 x khuli loaches

Any comments on stocking are welcome

 

[Nosnibor]

Hi all

I am finally getting my new and first tank!!!!!!!

Its a Rio 125 34 gallon, i intend to have a mixture of real plants and fakes with a sand substrate.

My worry is that most people seem to have there lights on for about 8 hours a day, seeing as i work all day if i put them on at 9 i would nt see the fish with the lights on!!! I was wondering if fish have a sense of what time it is and whether i could put the lights on later?

Also can you have the lights on longer or with algae overtake my tank?

P.S I aim to have this community of fish

1 x Male Betta

10 x Cardinals

6 x Corys

2 x Keyhole cyclids

and either 1 x bristlenose or 2 x khuli loaches

Any comments on stocking are welcome

Hi DanielG,

With regards to your light timing, I just bought a cheap timer (2 in a pack) from a hardware shop for something like £3-£5 and have set mine to come on at 14:30 until 22:30, then the lights are on for the eight hours and I get to see them in the evening. Also, I didn't want the fish to have bright light then sudden darkness hence the 22:30, I usually go to bed around 23:00 so they get some of my light outside the tank until I go to bed

Martin

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yup just get a cheapy timer and set it to whatever times suit you so you get to see them, 8hrs is a good starting point, if you get a lot of algae you may want to reduce this

 

[DanielG]

thanks guys

 

[DanielG]

thinking about my stocking, if i get this set up

1 x Male Betta

10 x Cardinals

6 x Corys

2 x Keyhole cyclids

1 x bristlenose

i will have roughly 40 inches of fish in a 33 gallon tank will i be overstocked?

If so i might have to drop the bristlenose

 

[rsands]

if you go my the gallon to inch rule then yes..

 

[Nosnibor]

thinking about my stocking, if i get this set up

1 x Male Betta

10 x Cardinals

6 x Corys

2 x Keyhole cyclids

1 x bristlenose

i will have roughly 40 inches of fish in a 33 gallon tank will i be overstocked?

If so i might have to drop the bristlenose

I personally wouldn't drop the Bristlenose, I have two and they are great and will be great when I get the algae. To be honest I would rather drop a couple of the Cardinals.

Also regarding the Cardinals, make sure you check with the lfs what Nitrate they have been used to as they are very sensitive to the composite of new water. Ideally I'd wait for 3 to 4 weeks after you have established your tank as I have lost 3 so far

Hope that helps

Martin

 

[DanielG]

ok so maybe i ll drop 2 cardinals and 1 cory,

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ok so maybe i ll drop 2 cardinals and 1 cory,

the cories need to be in groups of 6

can't believe no one's said it but the betta and cardinals are a bad idea

they are too colourful and therefore put themselves at risk from attacks from the betta, and cardinals can be quite nippy and are likely to pick on the betta's flowing fins.

bad move i'm afraid, drop the betta. they really really do best by themselves

 

[DanielG]

Ok so if i drop the Betta do youthinkthis set up would be ok and not overstocked?

2 x Keyholes

6 x Corys

9 x Cardinals

1 x Bristlenose

is it true that bristlenoses can be aggressive towards corys?

 

[DanielG]

ok i have decided to have a bit of an overhaul, this is the finalised fish list unless anyone sees any problems with it

2 x honey gourami

8 x neon tetra

6 x corys

4 x guppies (1 male)

1 x bristlenose

 

[Miss Wiggle]

looks ok to me

 

[DanielG]

thanks for the advice everyone

 

[vinylman]

ok i have decided to have a bit of an overhaul, this is the finalised fish list unless anyone sees any problems with it

2 x honey gourami

8 x neon tetra

6 x corys

4 x guppies (1 male)

1 x bristlenose

Neon Tetras (like Cardinals) should be left until the tank has matured for 5/6 weeks, then acclimatised very slowly (preferably, take about an hour to do it in a bucket). Also, even if you have only one male Guppy, you will have fry EVERY four weeks; natural predation won't account for all of them, so you may still find you need a home for some of them. Ask at your LFS if they'll take the offspring when they're large enough. I used to trade my Livebearers in for food, plants etc. I'd be tempted to get all males.