Aquarium light for betta tank while on vacation

[TTUHoopsFans]

I will be gone for 9 days soon and I have a 5 gallon tank with a betta, 2 snails, 2 marimo moss balls, and 2 sword plants. I have an automatic betta feeder thing I'll be using. I want to put the lights on a timer, but the lights will only rotate through the 8 different colors or so and won't come on automatically with just the white light. In order to get the white light (or the color you want), you have to do a few presses of the button for the lights.

My question is, should I just leave the white light on non-stop for the full 9 days? Should I have a timer set and let the lights run for 12 hours a day on the multi-color rotating setting? Should I turn off the lights completely? I'm at a loss what to do here.... Thank you.

P.S. - This is the tank I have: https://www.petsmart.com/fish/start...oifZb_nzK9ExHA57P6ccIthJuLLq0zfsaAjTZEALw_wcB.

 

[rlederer]

You could put the light on the white only setting and put the light on an external timer.

 

[TTUHoopsFans]

You could put the light on the white only setting and put the light on an external timer.

Thanks. But as mentioned above, that scenario won’t work.

 

[gourami-mommy]

Definitely do not leave the white light on the whole time you're gone. In order for your fish and plants to stay healthy they will need a day/night schedule, constant light or no light will make the fish stressed and sick and can cause algae growth.
You'll have to find someone who can watch them while you're gone, get a new light which is compatible with an external timer or figure something else out.

 

[charliebankston]

You can buy a cheap external timer that comes on and then just let it cycle until it goes off