Regular Member kukana d Posted December 19, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 Hey guys,I'm going out of town for 3 nights and am just going to leave the fish alone-they'll just not have food for 2 of the days as I will feed before I leave. Would you guys leave the tank lights on or off? I've never just left them before 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member number20121 Posted December 19, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 I'd just leave them off, unless you got plants. The fish themselves really don't need much light. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Captain Findus Goldfish Posted December 19, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 I leave them off and a house light on - like a little side lamp or something. (Just incase not much sun gets in) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Chrissy_Bee Posted December 19, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 I would leave them off. Do they get any natural light at all? If so at least they'd have a normal day/night cycle...just not as bright as usual. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dogsbykat Posted December 19, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 I agree, open blinds and drapes and leave a room light on, they should be fine 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member kukana d Posted December 19, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 Something TERRIBLE just occurred to me-what if the power goes out,or a fuse blows while I'm gone? I would surely come back to a bunch of dead fish! Now I'm thinking I should get someone to just maybe look in on them 1x/day. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Captain Findus Goldfish Posted December 19, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 For the future Susan (also makes things easier for you), you can get very simple and cheap timers at stores like home depot. All my turtle lights have those - you just pick the hours you want the lights on and it does it automatically You plug the light plug into it Does your power go out often? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Cynders Posted December 19, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 I would leave them on and get a timer like Federica suggested. When I had that huge cloudy water issue when I went to London I attribute it to the light being off and the algae died off. A timer would be great 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member amynmitchell Posted December 19, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 I use a timer...it was aroudn 8 dollars and totally amazing. I love that my light turns on and off on its own. I leave my fish for up to three days all the time....I've never had a problem (knock wood). In fact, I'm gone for three nights over the holidays. I'm a bit nervous about it because of the new ones going so soon in the main tank, but I'm sure it will be fine. We have had brief power outtages and as soon as it comes back on everything starts up normally. Unless you have a building that loses power regularly (and we don't have snowstorms to knock out power) your babies should be just fine...relax and enjoy your holiday! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member blackteles Posted December 19, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 Lights Off + Timer + Power Checker = Happy Fish (thousands) + Calm Susan. It's a good formula. If you can't do the timer I'd open the blinds to let the light on throughout the day. It's what I do while I'm gone for the week and my group isn't giving me any static. (If they are I'm not picking up on it). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sakura Posted December 19, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 Yeah Susan, you need a light timer! I have them on both my big tanks, and they are wonderful. But since you don't have one, you should definitely leave the lights off while you're gone. Leave some drapes or blinds open to let in some natural light. I think it's a great idea to have someone check on them once a day just to make sure everything's running. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member shellbell4ever Posted December 19, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 19, 2010 I left my lights off the entire time I was in florida (10 days) and my sister only stopped in once for a light feeding and they all survived also last winter we went with out electric for a week and I had no heat either or losses Goldfish are alot tougher than we give them credit for 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member kukana d Posted December 20, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 20, 2010 thanks for your replies,everyoneI actually do have some timers,but forgot about themYou guys are SO smartThank you!And,I'm not going away until NEXT week. It's not that we get a bunch of power outages-but I have the very old screw-in type fuses,and when it blows,it blows! I'm just afraid if the filters go,it would get WAY too toxic for them to survive 'days'. I have quite an investment in my 170g full of DO fish,and such an outage would be quite a lossI may get someone to literally just pop in and make sure everything is running 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member blackteles Posted December 20, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 20, 2010 I'll do it! I'll do it! Pick me! Pick me! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member kukana d Posted December 20, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted December 20, 2010 I'll do it! I'll do it! Pick me! Pick me! LOLYou just want to get out of that cold weather(I can't say I blame you!) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member number20121 Posted December 20, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 20, 2010 Yeah, and Dennis brings all his teles for a sleepover 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Captain Findus Goldfish Posted December 20, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 20, 2010 Susan, THIS is what you need!!!!!! :rofl 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member devilduck Posted December 20, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 20, 2010 Goldfish don't have eyelids so having the lights on all the time can really stress them out and lead to illness. I leave mine on their own for weekends all the time and they're fine, even with plants. I leave the curtains open so some daylight gets in but leaving the lights on 24/7 is a recipe for disaster. Ponds, lakes and rivers are not exposed to bright sunlight all day every day, and the fish will just treat it as a stormy day if it's dark. The only thing to watch is temperature, my lights keep my tank relatively stable but when they're off for a few days the temperature plummets. Get a heater for your tanks if they're normally lit just to keep the temperature stable. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member amynmitchell Posted December 20, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted December 20, 2010 It may be worth having someone stop in just to check the power for your peace of mind. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.