Tank Light Question

[ratfink]

Hi All,
My lad has a 20 ltr starter tank, and we are curious to know how the tank light effects the fish and the environment, also any other standard advice about length of time a light should / shouldn't be on etc. ps. there are two plants in there.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Miss Wiggle]

the fish don't need the light at all, lights are purley for plant growth and to enable us to see into the tank. usually people have the lights on for around 8 hrs a day, depending on what plants you have and what level of sunlight the tank receives you may want to increse or reduce this

 

[waterdrop]

More plants rather then less will help balance against algae, but be sure to trim away excess dying plant material and remove it from the tank as it adds to the waste load. Also, the extra bits of dying plant material will continue the requirement that is always there of regular filter cleaning. Cleaning of filter media should always be in tank water rather than tap, and should not be done too vigorously, as you don't want do lose too many of the good bacteria you've worked so hard to grow in the filter.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[ratfink]

Thanks for the replies, I have removed the old "dead" plants and put in 4 new ones to help with the balance and removal of nitrates.
... going to get a bigger tank soon... I'm hooked...

 

[vinylman]

Thanks for the replies, I have removed the old "dead" plants and put in 4 new ones to help with the balance and removal of nitrates.
... going to get a bigger tank soon... I'm hooked...

Go on, throw some more in there - you can't have too many plants.

 

[Anguilla82]

just make sure there is enough oxygen in the water (i.e. surface agitation) as at night plants take in oxygen, thus depleting what there is in the tank, while during the day they produce oxygen.

 

[vinylman]

just make sure there is enough oxygen in the water (i.e. surface agitation) as at night plants take in oxygen, thus depleting what there is in the tank, while during the day they produce oxygen.

Yes, if you can move the filter output, just point it slightly upwards at night, then back down at lights on, so as not to drive off Co2 during the day.