Aquarium Lights the real deal

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I hope you know by now why you need aquarium lights. Fish tank lighting is all about recereating the natural habitat day/night cycle of your fish. You don’t just go on buying any kind of fish tank light out there since lighting not intended for aquarium use usually lack wavelengths of the daylight spectrum that are crucial to the health of your fish and other aquarium life. And if this isn’t bad enough, some lights have wavelengths that promote algae growth (not something you want).

Since there are some pretty important things to consider,we’ll look at some of the available aquarium lights out there and i’ll try my best to go into detail for each one. But take note, before all of this you should know what type of fish you have, what its natural habitat is and how much lighting it needs. A rule of thumb is most freshwater fish don’t need fish tank lighting and can do just fine with indirect sunlight or any other kind of lighting in the spectrum range of 5500K-10000K. Salwater fish are another thing. Plants need a little more light than fish. Saltwater corals, anemones and clams on the other hand require intense lighting.

Daytime
The time between sunrise and sunset.

Daylight
The cheapest, in fact free of charge, fish tank lighting out there is logically the sun. If your aquarium is near a window you could let the sun shine in and when your fishes have had enough close the blinds or the curtains. Simple as that.
However,there’s some downsides to this, one of which is overheating. The heat from the sun can really heat up an aquarium in a jiffy. And if you’ve heard of global warming and how it affects our oceans compare this to your tiny little aquarium and your fish will be steamed and ready to eat if you leave it out for too long.

Another downside is too much daylight can cause accelerated algae growth becuase of the abundant light they get to use for photosynthesis. If this sounds like something you’ve been dealing with then read on.

Incandescent Bulbs
I don’t even know why these are still in production. These are the ordinary screw-in bulbs you use at home and are generally not for aquarium use. The color spectrum of these are 2700K and 3000k for halogen bulbs (red-yellowish light). Incandescent bulbs cost less up front but is the most inefficient type of bulb. These also promote algae growth and gives off large amounts of heat quickly. These are best suited for really small aquarium set-ups or for housing reptiles in a terrarium.

Fluorescent Lights
Most common choice of lighting period. These are usually included in aquarium hoods or aquarium covers. Long round tubes that cost a little more but is cheaper in the long run. Provides lighting in a larger surface area compared to bulbs and don’t turn as hot. Available in 3 different thickness sizes T12, T8 and T5.

Fluorescent lights have a wide range of outputs if you need to light deeper tanks, reef tanks or tanks with plants. Special lamps like High Output (HO) and Very High Output lamps (VHO) are available in the same three sizes. However, these special lamps are known to have short lifespans and it is usually recommended to use compact fluorescent bulbs instead of VHO lamps.

Compact Fluorescents | Power Compact
Smaller than a normal output (NO) fluorescent, uses less power but produces more intensity, these Compact Fluorescents or Power Compact lamps are the future. CF or PC require fixtures different from fluorescent lights. These come in twin or quad-tube designs and are quickly replacing VHO lamps as the reef lighting of choice.

Metal Halide
If you need really focused and intense lighting for really light hungry reefs or corals, these high intensity discharge lights might be what you need. Not recommmended for beginners, these lamps require special fixtures and ballasts and are the most expensive. Unlike other lights, these Metal Halide lamps focuses like a spotlight. Because of the intense wattage (70W-1000W) from a single bulb, these can get really really really HOT. Don’t ever touch one barehanded and an hour before it cools down.

Actinic Light
Lights that produce UV wavelenghts at the blue end of the light spectrum. Suitable for promoting coral and invertebrate growth as the light is able to penetrate the water the deepest and is the easiest to be absorbed by corals and invertebrates.

Nighttime
Most natural habitats like the ocean, are never pitch black in the night. The light reflecting off of the moon’s surface is an important source of light. This has been known to greatly affect a fish’s health and behaviors like spawning. Luckily, recreating this in your own fish tank is easy with Lunar LEDs.

Lunar LEDs
Inexpensive and relatively limited choices only, this little baby does it’s job of recreating the moon’s illuminating effects on the water as well as gives your aquarium that cool blue look when you turn off the lights.

Most aquarium hoods and covers come with lights included. Consider getting one of these as it can save you some money by changing or upgrading the lights instead of getting a separate aquarium lighting assembly.

Remember, the number one thing you NEED to do is research on your fish. Buying Aquarium Lights can get really really expensive if you don’t know what your doing.

How about a chart to make things easier?
From the www.aquariumguys.com