I work from 3 pm till 11 pm maybe a little longer (Air Force), While i'm gone i turn the 2 lights off on the tank. Then when i get home, turn them on and feed the fish. Oh i live by myself, single, i'm a Capricorn, so do you come here often?

55 gallon
4 tiger barbs
1 Clown Pleco
2 moss balls or Algae balls ( litlle fat round plant)

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55 Gallon Tank

3 Male Guppies
4 Tiger Barbs
1 Rainbow Shark
1 Clown Pleco
4 Ottos

8 bamboo plants
2 Algae Balls

That's fine - I leave mine on about 12 hours a day.

Just don't leave them in the dark all the time.

the barbs might darken up but other then that the pleco loves the darkness.

I got a cheap timer set from xmas section at menards, they work great, I am gone from 0530-1530 usually daily. I did the timer thing mainly for the angels and the plants but they do work and will work best for your application.


1500 was 2 hours shy of dinner for us, we were up at 0430 and in bed at 2230 daily.

you fly boys got it easy.

retired air force here. The timer is an excellent idea.

But even without that 8 hours a day no lights is if anything too short. If you get cloudy water, slime or algae on the glass, you would be well advised to kill the lights for a few days until the tank clears.


my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

Iv heard of more irregular lighting patterns. Theyll be fine. Buy a timer for like 10 bucks if you want to start a more precise pattern.

cool thanx for the responses, i'm gonna get a timer.

and yes, some of us "fly boys" do have it pretty easy, compared to Marines and Army on the front line. Much respect to them!!

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55 Gallon Tank

3 Male Guppies
4 Tiger Barbs
1 Rainbow Shark
1 Clown Pleco
4 Ottos

8 bamboo plants
2 Algae Balls

Ditto


also FWIW I like these timers:

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

They have push in "tabs" which allow an on or off every 15 minutes or so. Plus those tabs are build in not lose and cannot be lost.

they also have 2 outlets which is handy and the usual manual on off switch.

Just a thought.

worth at most.02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden