Going on Holiday.....What do we do with the Aquarium Lighting??

[Flossy]

Hi all,

We are heading on holiday next week for 2 weeks. We are going to purchase a battery operated feeder and have also asked a friend to pop round every other day while we're away to check on our fishies!

My question is, what do we do about the lights in the aquarium? I've read that if you leave your lights on 24hrs a day the fish can't rest properly which leads to stress/death.

We have an air stone at the back of the tank which emits blue/white lights which are very subtle.

Should we turn all the lights off whilst we are away for the 2 weeks or turn the main tubes off and keep the air stone lights on?.......they are subtle but its obviously still light in the tank.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[alto]

What's the present situation with this tank? I think you've had some fish deaths re tetra general - but what led you to dose in the first place???
What livestock are in the tank now?
Water change schedule?
Foods?


Automatic fish feeders are somewhat notorious for sticking open rather than closed so research carefully before investing & choose appropriate foods (pellets are often suggested over flakes) - if you're having a friend come by every couple of days, I'd just portion out suitable amounts of foods (same as you'd feed daily!) & have this person drop in the tank & observe fish.
If possible invite friend over & go through the fish list & filter/heater/light checks etc - if person is not fish experienced, write up a detailed check list & emergency contact #'s (do you have a local shop that will talk through issues or even come by if needed?)

Lights can be turned off, this works just fine as long as there is some ambient light reaching the tank during feeding time.
You might also just use an electronic timer for the light power cord.

 

[ian_m]

Before I had a planted tank I just left the lights on normal 6 hours when away, even for upto 3 weeks. Fish fed with a feeder.

When moved to planted, a whole different ball game. Used a fish feeder, used dosing pumps to add fertiliser and turned lights down to 3-4 hours a day and CO2 down as well. All was fine when I came back after 3 weeks.