Aquarium lighting

a guide to lights for freshwater aquariums

Before you decide to buy an aquarium lighting system there are a few facts you should know. Always focus on more aspects than only price, given discount or cheap offers. It's necessary to understand the purpose of a lighting system in a fish tank, and only then one should go ahead and buy. This guide is here to help you and it has been written by experienced fish keepers for everyone who needs advice.

Imagine, you are a colourful tropical fish. You swim in warm water, with lot of plants, in which you can hide and of course you know where are you swimming. Do you know how this paradise may exist? It is because of the sun. Sunshine is a perfect light. Thanks to the sun the life exists on the Earth's surface. Thanks to the sun I can write this article now. As you all know, it is because of the photosynthesis. So you see, that the light is very important. And an aquarium needs it too. That is the reason why you have to buy a specialized aquarium lighting.

When you are buying an aquarium lighting, you have to choose it carefully. The right type of the lighting is very important for the aquarium. It is because plants depend on it. If you choose a wrong type of the light, it may cause that your plants will not grow, but algae will. But it is important in the fish-only aquariums too. It is because fish need to see where they are swimming to and what they are eating. Fish should have from 10 to 12 hours of light trough a day. If you shut down the light suddenly, fish may be scared. The best way how to shut down the light in the aquarium is to shut it down few minuter before you shut down the light in the room. And before you turn on the light in the aquarium, turn on the light in the room, if you have a darker room. Some aquarists have a night light in the aquarium. It is called lunar light too. In the nature, such light is normal for fish because at night it is not as dark as in a room.

There are two things that are important when you are choosing an aquarium lighting system: colour spectrum and brightness of the light. Manufacturers makes lights in some colour spectrum variants. The best colour for plants are red and blue parts of the spectrum. But if you have a fish-only aquarium, you can choose a yellow-green part of the spectrum, but the best is a full spectrum light. The aquarium will look more heater. The brightness of the light is more difficult to choose. It is because you have to know how much light plants will need and how big will your aquarium be. You need to know exactly how deep and wide will your aquarium be. It all affects the brightness in the tank. The more deeper your aquarium is, the more stronger light you need. Generally, a tank should have got from 0,0015 to 0,0022 W on a square centimetre.

The best way how to measure how much light you have in your aquarium, is with luxmeter. The intensity of light is measured in luxes. Freshwater aqarium plants need maximum 5 000 lux and saltwater plants, sea-flowers and corals need more than 6 000 lux. It is very important to know how much light need your plants, because if they have more light than they need, they will not be as pretty as they can be and algae will grow in your tank. So here are some examples of how much light need some species of plants: Cryptocorinae and Vesicularia need maximum 500 lux. They like mild light. Anubias, Echinodorus, Sagittaria and Hygrophila need 500 – 1 000 lux. It is a gentle light. Bacopa, Ceratopteris, Egeria and Ludwigia like quite shine light 1 000 – 1 500 lux. Vallisneria, Cabomba, Myriophyllum need the most light – over 1 500 lux.

The most common lightings are Fluorescents tubes. They can be made in many colour spectrum and many sizes. They lasts for about one year. They also can simulate daylight. Tungsten and Halogen Lamps are used in some cases, but they are not a good choice. They are maybe cheaper, but they need more energy and lasts for a short time. They also heat up the aquarium and they have not the right colour spectrum for growing plants. This is also the the cause why normal lamps can’t be used. By the way, unlike like lamps specially made for aquariums, ordinary house lamps would not light up the whole aquarium the same way. Compact Fluorescents are like fluorescent tubes, but they last longer. They also need less energy even if they make more light. This can be possible because it looks like one long fluorescent tube shaped to U. Most lightings need more space, but this don´t. Compact Fluorescents and Fluorescents tubes.

Never try to save a few dollars if you're going to lose quality. Sometimes a small saving can lead to dramatic change in terms of light quality. Inexpensive items may lack in quality sometimes, however it isn't the rule. As it has been mentioned above, when buying aquarium lighting always ask for information about spectrum/intensity. Bear in mind that light alone isn't sufficient to grow plants in general; One needs quality fertilizer and substrate as well. Fish excrements don't contain all nutriments that are needed for plants growth.

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Aquarium lighting

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