Hey how long do you keep the lights on

roosworld

roosworld

New Member
I really cant tell you how depressed and fraustrated I am with the fish store for selling me everything then having me put 4 fish in there knowing that they will die.I used tap water when I filled it added the salt coral then live sand.They said thats why I could put fish in right away.(One day) The tank really looks great though. The fish are swimming and they ate wellreally seem to dig the tank.the LR and the boat How long do I leave the light on?I never asked that .Can someone please answer that.
Roo
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
You can leave the lights on 4-8 hours, or longer. There was a poll a while back. Our are on for about 6. (due to money issues) For a newer tank, I leave them on less because of algea growth. You'll be able to play with how long and figure out what'd right for your tank. Oh, and it's less stressful on the fish if you use a timer on the lights. That way the lights go on and off the same time everyday and you don't have to be home to turn them on and off.
You bought fish after knowing they would die? And you used tapwater? :(
Please take the fish back to the lfs. What kind of fish did you get? Are they fish you want to keep if they live?
I used tap water when I filled it added the salt coral then live sand.They said thats why I could put fish in right away.(One day)
Sorry, but there is no logic to this at all.
Some people use tap water, but they have problems later on. You could take the fish back and start over with RO/DI water (what I'd do). If not, please use RO/DI water for top off and water changes.
I'd feed the fish sparingly until the tank is cycled.
 
roosworld

roosworld

New Member
No I did not know that they would die.i walked in said I would like to start a new hobbie a salt water tank for my son and myself.They said great and then 2 hours later I was going home with my new 55 gal tank and all the trimmings.i found the sight after setting everything up and I was waiting for the salt to become ready.Then I called the sales guy who had given me his card and he said no do not listen this is how things are done now.And invited me in to the store the next morning.where he said take home the LR and Fish put them in they will be fine They are a hearty fish and will make it through.
I do not even know what that other water is.I have spent almost 1700 dollars (everyone here also says that putting down coral then live sand overtop is crazy.i am feeling very stupid right now.Will my fish die for sure? Yes I would like to keep them thats why I picked those paticular fish.
Wow it really looks great! Hey thanks for the input!
Roo:confused: :)
 
black99l

black99l

Member
I was talking to a person that has been running tanks for almost ten years now and they said that they understand why they said it would be ok to put the fish in. Reason being: you need the fish to start the bacteria in the water, but the tap water thing is crazy. i was always told to use RO (reverse osmosis) or DI (distilled), perferably RO water. what kind of fish are they? damsels?
 
holloway

holloway

Member
Roosworld congratulations on getting involved in the wonderful world of saltwater. You'll learn a lot from this site and obviously books. I too am new to the hobby. (freshwater 25 yrs). Be prepared for everyones "advice". Take it with a grain of salt, you'll discover that there's countless different methods to everything and the ones that matter are the ones you experiment with and find works best for you. Don't beat yourself up over not knowing that your fish might not make it or that tap water will be more detrimental than beneficial. That's the kind of stuff you discover along the way. The only advice I can recommend is be patient with your tank. The longer you wait monitoring your water and digesting info on the subject , the happier you will be as a marine hobbyist. Believe me the stuff is evolving daily. Books written a couple of years ago contain obsolete info cause technology is improving so fast. Be prepared it's not inexpensive. But the slower the pace the more you will save. Good Luck. P.S. I keep my lights on for 12 hours.
 
T

thomas712

Guest
RoosWorld - Welcome to the board :)
Books are a great place to start, and so is this board.
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist is a pretty good book to start with and ask questions from.
My lights are on 9 to 10 hours a day
For sure you are going to go through a cycle now, over the next 40 days or so you may get to hate your tank with all the algea and diatom blooms that you are going to see. But remember how beautiful it looks now that it is freshly setup, you will strive to keep it that way over time.
Cycling is very hard on fish, most prefer to cycle with the raw shrimp method, then add fish.
In my opinion your LFS jerked you around some, prices are almost always cheaper on line, we do not share competitor links on this site but you can do searches from your web browser and come up with tons of places to do your shoping and save big. Also the advice about just tossing the fish in, is wrong, stressful on your fish, and could lead to disease in your tank. Go ahead and ask your LFS questions, then come here and get a 2nd opinion.
Good luck on your tank and let us know anytime you need anything answered.
Thomas
 
stillfrodo

stillfrodo

Member
Roos,
You see the guy that just posted above me. Listen to him and the other experienced people on the board. They have helped me out countless times and I have learned alot. Unfortunately your LFS was just out to make a buck. There are 2 great books out there one by Paletta another by Fenner. I have referred to those 2 books so much the cover is ragged and coming off. I really think your LR is going to be okay. It will cycle the tank. Buy yourself some good test kits for ammonia nitrites and nitrates. As a personal preference I use salifert testing kits as i find them easy to use and fairly accurate. Do a search on this board for the nitrogen cycling of a tank it will give you some insight and knowledge of how a tank cycles and what to look for as far as testing. Take your time patience is the key. Please don't be afraid to ask questions on this board. All the wonderful guys and gals here will be more then happy to answer any question you may have. Welcome to the board.
 
roosworld

roosworld

New Member
Well after testing everything in the tank the morning of day 3 amonia is 0, nitrite 0,Ph 8.0
How could that be?! I am soooooooooo confused.I have a fasTest kit I have checked two times.
Please someone comment will the tank still spike or get out of wack?
The fish look great!
The blue tang with yellow tail and the fire angel slept in the same cave in the live rock,and the clowns are just swimming around very active.
I have brine shrimp to feed them and seaweed to hang on the lil clip for the tang.Should I feed them or wait?
:eek: :confused:
 
T

thomas712

Guest

Originally posted by RoosWorld
Well after testing everything in the tank the morning of day 3 amonia is 0, nitrite 0,Ph 8.0
How could that be?! I am soooooooooo confused.

[hr]
Believe me it will most likely spike, it will also get out of wack. first off you added 4 fish to your non cycled tank. The tang and the angel were bad choices at this point, both suseptable to disease, and the tang in a 4 foot long skinny tank was also a poor choice. The clowns are the hardy ones of your fish and they may very well live through the cycle, I personally would not have subjected the other two to this begining cycle.

[hr]
I have a fasTest kit I have checked two times.
Please someone comment will the tank still spike or get out of wack?

[hr]
With four fish and you are feeding them then you will see that ammonia jump, personally I would check it on a new salifert test kit. does your test kit have an experation date? Have your LFS test it and compare results after they test it.

[hr]
The fish look great!
The blue tang with yellow tail and the fire angel slept in the same cave in the live rock,and the clowns are just swimming around very active.
I have brine shrimp to feed them and seaweed to hang on the lil clip for the tang.Should I feed them or wait?

[hr]
Might want to feed once a day every other day for 1 week and find out what is happening.
Once again with the Personally thing. I would take the tang, and angel back to the LFS for store credit, or to have them put on hold. This is just simply the responsible thing to do IMO. Every tank will cycle differently and your bacteria in the live sand will most likly not be able to handle the load that you have put on your tank all at once. My guess is the you can expect that ammonia jump any time now.
Thomas
 
dacia

dacia

Active Member
I normally turn my lights on when I wake up in the morning, around 7:30 to 8:30. I try to have them turned off around 5:30 which is when I get home from work normally.
My new tank had an algae problem, but after adding my cleaners this morning, that problem is almost all gone. It's amazing how fast cerith and astrea snails devour algae, not to mention the crabs and lettuce nudibranch. I think that with the proper cleaning crew, algae problems normally don't persist.
 
S

sinner's girl

Guest
The blue tang with yellow tail and the fire angel slept in the same cave in the live rock,and the clowns are just swimming around very active.
:eek: :(
I would take the tang, and angel back to the LFS for store credit, or to have them put on hold. This is just simply the responsible thing to do IMO.
What Thomas said.
No I did not know that they would die
A few of us told you fish were likley to die in an uncycled tank
you need the fish to start the bacteria in the water
You can use dead shrimp, and uncured live rock just as well.
 
k9-fish

k9-fish

Member
Holloway said it best. You will get all kinds of "advice". Do what works for your tank. You will definitely learn as you go. ;)
 
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