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Hello all!

I finally purchased a timer for my planted aquarium, and I am wondering if people generally have one lighting cycle (i.e. lights on for one 8-hour) strectch, or two 4-hour cycles.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Dave

hi...i have timers for my lights as well...what i do is...one light last for the entire 12 hrs from 7-7...the other one... from 8-6:30...and then before the last light turns off...i have my moonlite on already till 1 am

ps...got plants in my tank..thats why i have my lights on that long!!!

Hi,
I have timers on my tank lights. One timer controls the a
light and the cooling fan within the hood. It is set for 10
hours on, and gives the tank 2 wpg. It comes on at 0730
and stays on till 1730. The second light comes on at 1000
and stays on until 1400. This increases the wpg to 4.3 wpg.
This simulates the Tropical noonday sun.

In a planted tank, you want to replicate a day at the
Equator. There the sun is "up" for the longest period, and
is the brighest at noon. 10 hours is a good photo period
for plants. You can go longer to say 12 and even push it to
14, but that invites an algae disaster. Also you must give
the plants time to "rest" during which they change from
giving off O2, to giving off CO2.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Dave in the basement.

I have always used timers even in my 18Sqft mini hot house for the orchids.

The well planted Anubias tank is on for 11hrs a day I did a bit of research, books, and asking, long before the WWW and have always used that amount of hours.

As Frank stated any longer can cause algea problems though all tanks are different.

Keith

Last edited by keithgh at 25-May-2005 19:24

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Hi,

I have my lights on from 6 AM to 8 PM with a 2 hour break starting
at noon. I read somewhere that this is supposed to reduce algae production.
The given reason was, in short, that algae needs quite a while to start its
growth process once the lights turn on. Plants, on the other hand, are
supposedly quick starters.

Once I heard about this I gave it a try and do it ever since, not knowing
if I really gain anything. Certainly, this setup does not reflect a &#8220;real&#8221; day
cycle anywhere in the world, but it gives me the chance to look at my tank
before I go to work and again after I come back. It would be a shame if
I only could enjoy the beauty on the weekends (well, beauty is in the
eye of the beholder anyway)

Ingo

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