[fish keeper 2013]

I was reading Byron's article on lights (nice article by the way :-D) and I have a question. I would have posted it on the article but the article is relatively old and I wasn't sure anyone would see it. I currently keep my light on from 3:30 to 10:00 pm (because it looks good with the lights on at night). I have one plant, but it is java fern which requires low light. Also the room it is in recieves tons of indirect sunlight. So saying the sun rises at 7:00 am. than my tank will get a total of 15 hours. This number will get even higher in the summer. Is this too much? Should I change it to another time period?

 

[Byron]

Thank you for the kind words.:thankyou:

Java Fern does not like direct light that is bright; you will see brush algae attacking this plant, and it is impossible to deal with. I don't know the tank size nor the light specs, so I can't comment on whether it may be bright or dim. And, are you adding any fertilizers? If you can provide this data, I should be able to offer more.

Floating plants are ideal with Java Fern, plus you gain the additional benefit of fast growing plants (which JF is not, obviuosly).

Byron.

 

[fish keeper 2013]

Sorry, my tank is 10 gallons and the light is incandescant 15 watt. I wasn't really concerned about if it was too bright, just the fact that with my light the "sun" doesnt go away until 10 pm. Just wondering if that would be bad for my fish
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[MoneyMitch]

if i were you and your not seeing any problems right now i wouldnt change anything, only time i change things is when problems occur, yes its better to be proactive then reactive but theres a fine line with that in aquariums.

 

[Byron]

Agree. As for the light and fish, have a read of my article on this:
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-articles/lighting-how-affects-freshwater-fish-81982/

As it explains, provided you have a decent continuous period of complete darkness, and provided the "day" light isn't too bright, the fish don't care much. With plants, we use algae to guage the light.

Byron.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Sorry, my tank is 10 gallons and the light is incandescant 15 watt. I wasn't really concerned about if it was too bright, just the fact that with my light the "sun" doesnt go away until 10 pm. Just wondering if that would be bad for my fish
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Fish are very adaptable and once you have a 'canopy' of floating plants, the light intensity will be reduced.

 

[beaslbob]

I was reading Byron's article on lights (nice article by the way :-D) and I have a question. I would have posted it on the article but the article is relatively old and I wasn't sure anyone would see it. I currently keep my light on from 3:30 to 10:00 pm (because it looks good with the lights on at night). I have one plant, but it is java fern which requires low light. Also the room it is in recieves tons of indirect sunlight. So saying the sun rises at 7:00 am. than my tank will get a total of 15 hours. This number will get even higher in the summer. Is this too much? Should I change it to another time period?

IMHO it is very important to not necessairly follow some suggested formula especially those posted in this excellent board but by people who may have completely different tanks, setups, and experience.

What you do is really kind of simple. Increase the lighting (usually duration) until you get cloudiness and then cut back off to where the tank stays clear.

Sometimes you have to do that with feeding as well.


Of course if the plants and fish are happy to start with I wouldn't change anything.

That way you have the lighting for your specific situation.

But hey.

that's just my .02

 

[1077]

IMHO it is very important to not necessairly follow some suggested formula especially those posted in this excellent board but by people who may have completely different tanks, setups, and experience.

What you do is really kind of simple. Increase the lighting (usually duration) until you get cloudiness and then cut back off to where the tank stays clear.

Sometimes you have to do that with feeding as well.


Of course if the plants and fish are happy to start with I wouldn't change anything.

That way you have the lighting for your specific situation.

But hey.

that's just my .02

Do tell,,, after warning OP of accepting suggestion's, especially from this board/forum,,
What makes what you suggest better?:lol:
In my expierience,increasing the light duration often encourages algae with all but lowest lighting in non CO2 tank's with minimal planting,fish load,fertz.
If OP isn't seeing algae ,then perhap's between the relatively low light ,and partial indirect light from window,,they have it about right.
Can alway's shade the light from window,or move the small tank if and when problem arises.

 

[funkman262]

Do tell,,, after warning OP of accepting suggestion's, especially from this board/forum,,
What makes what you suggest better?:lol:

I was thinking the same thing but then I realized his advice is similar to setting up an adjustable heater. Instead of saying something along the lines of "I have a different heater and I just turn the dial 10 degrees from the right and the temperature is where I need it", it's like saying "Turn the dial up slowly until the light turns on indicating the heater is on, watch what temperature it reaches when the indicator light turns off, turn the dial slightly if it's not hot enough, and repeat." So it's more of a custom fit solution than one-size fits all.

Honestly though, for the OP's setup, very little light is required since the only plant in the tank is java fern. I'd be more inclined to reduce lighting in that setup than increase it. I can see beaslbob's advice being more applicable in a heavily planted tank though.

 

[beaslbob]

Do tell,,, after warning OP of accepting suggestion's, especially from this board/forum,,
What makes what you suggest better?:lol:

...

Yeppers. :lol:

 

[1077]

Yeppers. :lol:

Pfffft!:roll:

 

[Byron]

I fail to see any relationship with cloudiness...

In a planted tank you use the plant's response and algae to gage the light. This works for both intensity and duration.

The light must first be of sufficient duration to drive photosynthesis in the specific plant species. Mixing high light with moderate and low light plants in the same aquarium can be tricky, and this is one area where beginning planted tank aquarists frequently run into problems. But the intensity is of prime importance; extending the duration cannot compensate for insufficient intensity.

Once you have the intensity suited to the plants, some fiddling with placement of the plants can aid the afore-mentioned issue of those needing more light than others. Floating plants over the lower light species, etc.

Once the intensity is fixed, then the duration can be worked out. Light must be the limiting factor to plant growth. So all nutrients must be available in adequate levels during the period of light. This will keep algae minimal, because the plants out-compete it. IF the light duration extends beyond the nutrient supply, photosynthesis in plants will slow and may stop altogether. This is what allows algae the advantage, and it will proliferate.

Cloudy water should not have any part in this. It may or may not occur, due to organics, bacteria, etc, but it cannot be used as any sort of guide to light. Or shouldn't.

Byron.

 

[fish monger]

If your tank is close to a window, the strong indirect light will have more of an impact than if the tank is across the room from a window. If the latter is the case, I wouldn't be concerned with the indirect daylight at all. If your tank is close to a window, as others have said, take a wait and see attitude and adjust from there.