I am going to buy a timer any suggestions?

[bballsosh]

I would like to buy a timer for my 10g planted tank so that when i go away in 2 wks the lights and c02 will go on and off. One questions is are these timers hard to program? (I am no electronic genius)
Also when my co2 truns on in the morning will it go the right setting bps and pressure and all? I dont really understand how the c02 will work so if someone would explain it me that would be great. Thanks

 

[travis simonson]

I use two of these on my 125G planted tank and they are great. I've had them for over two years now and they haven't failed once. They allow me to keep my tank on a Dawn/Day/Dusk/Night cycle as far as lighting goes, and they're easy to set up. Just click the little toggles for each 15 minutes of your 24-hour day and you can easily set up a very complex timer pattern. They're a little pricey, but I find that they are well worth it (*nods to the Coralife reps hoping they will throw him free stuff* ).

 

[docrak]

I have analog timers. A power failure means resetting all your timers. I found them difficult to fine tune also. I switched to digital timers with a backup battery and have never looked back. I have several different styles of digital timers based on what was on sale when I needed it and they all work great.

 

[drobertson]

I use this Single Digital listed on the following site. It has a battery backup so if power does go out you do not lose your settings. It was not hard to set. Kind a like a programable thermostat.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=11379&N=2004+113351

 

[Woody83]

I use the Coralife one shown above in others' posts. Very easy to set up.

 

[7Enigma]

I'll buck the trend, I have an old analog timer that was my parents and is probably almost as old as me (25). I use that for the PH for my CO2 dispersion. I have a nice $20 digital one from Home Depot that allows for 6 different On/Off settings, and has settings for each day. I just use it like the analog however, coming on ~30min AFTER and ~30-45min BEFORE the PH in the morning and night respectively. This allows me to get my CO2 levels up in the tank prior to the lights coming on, and keeps the CO2 levels high for a bit after the lights are off in case the plant is still growing heavily.

I also have another simple analog timer for my snail/QT tank that just turns on and off the light.

 

[Zezmo]

I have gone through two of the Coralife timer/powerstrips (the dual analog). IME they are a fire hazzard as both went up in smoke (without getting wet).
Having your wife ask you...."Honey why is there smoke coming from behind the fish tank?"... is never a good thing.

Timex makes a nice digital timer that is available at target. It takes a 3 prong plug, and has 20 on/off settings. It only costs $14.95 around here.

http://www.wgwguild.com/images/albums/Fish/72-filters_timers.jpg