little help

[acasden]

i have power compacts, the times are set for about 7 hrs, actinics come on 1 hr earlier and go off 1 hr later, is that enough daylight?

all the books say feed 2-3x per day, for me that would mean feeding in the dark because my room is so dark when the lights are off. do i feed in the dark??? thanks for the help

 

[Richison]

Depends on how new your tank is, but mine run for 10 hours straight. You are pretty close to 10 hours. I don't turn my Actinic of seperate, but that's me.

I only feed my fish once per day. Anything else is over feeding and will raise the phosphate levels in your tank.

 

[acasden]

thanks, any other opinions?????

 

[Anonymous]

hmm, you made me have to think about this one as it's just so automatic these days but i have my lights running anywhere bxt 10-12 hours a day depending on the season.

and feedings? i feed twice a day - usually flake in the am and frozen in the pm.

 

[acasden]

thanks, i guess people feed in the dark like in the natural environment thanks

 

[ChrisRD]

Many fish will hide in the rockwork at night so I tend to feed with lights on. Feeding once or twice a day will be sufficient for most fish species. As mentioned above - be cautious of overfeeding as it can take a toll on your water quality.

Also, if you have a fish-only system the photoperiod is not critical. If you have photosynthetic corals, I'd recommend something more along the lines of a 10-12 hour light cycle.

 

[Anonymous]

It would depend a lot on the species you are keeping. Overall several smaller feedings over the course of a day is better than one big feeding but some fish (predators like lions, groupers come to mind) do just fine iwht once daily or even 2-3x a week feedings.

Rememeber that feeding is one of the biggest pathways for nutrients to enter our systems. I would err on the side of caustion and feed a little less maybe twice a day unless you have a super high metabolism fish like say Anthias sp.