Filter cleaning & lighting

[flyfisher110]

Do the light's in the tank need to be on in the day time. Tank is sitting on the side of the living room window, but never gets direct sun light, there are no live plants only fake.
Also I've read about not changing the filter unless it is falling apart. Should it be cleaned every couple of weeks, or only when the water flow is low and or it is coated with algae etc.
I clean the glass and fake plants every 2 weeks.
I have guppies, neon tetra and a couple of Zebra Danio. Mostly guppies. I have a 20 gal tank, aerator. 20 gal tetra water filter. Do a 20% water change every week. Add Nutrafin Aqua Plus, Cycle, Waste control.

 

[ZxC]

I would leave lights on only in the evening when you are home. Aim for 6-8 hours per day.

I would change at least 50% water weekly, and rinse out filter media / sponges bi-weekly in old tank water (not tap water).

 

[BBradbury]

Keeping a Fish Tank

Do the light's in the tank need to be on in the day time. Tank is sitting on the side of the living room window, but never gets direct sun light, there are no live plants only fake.
Also I've read about not changing the filter unless it is falling apart. Should it be cleaned every couple of weeks, or only when the water flow is low and or it is coated with algae etc.
I clean the glass and fake plants every 2 weeks.
I have guppies, neon tetra and a couple of Zebra Danio. Mostly guppies. I have a 20 gal tank, aerator. 20 gal tetra water filter. Do a 20% water change every week. Add Nutrafin Aqua Plus, Cycle, Waste control.

Hello fly...

Your fish need a 50 percent water change weekly, especially with a small tank. I would gradually work up to this. If you swam around in your toilet, you'd want a lot of water changed and often. Fish simply need fairly equal periods of light and dusk. If you have no plants then, room light is fine. Your filter needs to be replaced every couple of weeks or it won't do a good job of keeping the tank water clean and clear. If you keep the tank water extremely clean with large, weekly water changes, your filter will last a bit longer. You don't need to use any chemicals, except a product to remove the chlorine and chloramine and to detoxify forms of nitrogen from the dissolving fish waste. Seachem's "Safe" is a good one. Don't worry about algae. It's a good water filter and a natural part of the tank. If you're careful about how much you feed, it won't become a problem.

Pretty simple,

B