Aquarium light

To some people aquarium lighting for a pet fish seems a bit like adding a neon sign to a lemonade stand. It seems like overkill and wasted money. Yet is there a real reason to use aquarium lighting? Is it important to keep my fish healthy and under ethically fair conditions?

The fact is that there are a lot of reasons that almost every serious fish-owner thinks about tank lighting. Of course there is the aesthetic element. It makes the fish look good.

You simply cannot see the beauty of many fish in the dark. Their color is only revealed when lightaquarium then you want to make sure that you can see it! bounces off their reflective scales. If you're going to pay good money for a nice fish and a healthy large

Aquarium lighting is what takes "just a fish" and turns it into a conversation starter or a tasteful decoration.

Yet, there is a more important aspect to aquarium lighting. Most fish require it for health reasons. The lighting that a fish is under can affect many of the bodily systems including the reproductive organs. Also, the regularity and strength of light can affect a fish's stress levels.

Fish need around 12 hours of lighting per day to ensure that the tank conditions are as similar to natural conditions as possible. The lighting needs to be consistent as inconsistent lighting can cause stress in fish and lead to health problems. Timers can be bought to ensure that this is easily maintained.

Remember that fish cannot close their eyes and so the twelve hours a day of lighting should be during day time when they are awake. At night the lighting should go off in order for them to sleep.

Also, you need to make sure that lighting is as similar to natural light as possible; fluorescent lighting needs to be used. Flames and household light bulbs are no good; you need fluorescent lights which are to be replaced every eight months.

A general rule is that your aquarium needs 2.5 watts per each gallon of volume. However, if you are planning on keeping live coral or rocks in your aquarium then the lighting requirements are far higher and you may need up to 8 watts per gallon.

Also, many corals and marine plants require "full spectrum" fluorescent light. This is fairly hard to explain but research the plant that you are planning on buying and ensure that you have the right lighting. You don't have to know how it works to work it.

However, if you don't have coral or plant life then you might want to consider a "color-enhancing light". These can be used in freshwater or saltwater tanks and have a yellow or pink hue so as to make a real feature of your fish's colors.

The pitfalls of a badly lit aquarium are too much unwanted algae growth and indirectly will affect the CO2 and nutrient levels in your tank and so it is definitely an aspect of your aquarium to take seriously.

I hope that this article has helped you to consider this issue fully. If you are looking for a place to purchase aquarium lighting then I highly recommend: http://www.desertcoralaquatics.com - by J Gillard (Aquarium Light)

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Aquarium Light

A topic that is not discussed very often is aquarium lighting for reef tanks. Although this topic is not discussed very much it is very important within a salt water reef tank.

After water quality the next most important thing is aquarium lighting for reef tanks, followed closely by water movement.

Water quality gives the tank stability as well as providing the corals with the essential elements. Aquarium lighting provides the corals with energy which they then use to grow. Water movement allows nutrients to be delivered to the corals for them to feed upon, as well as washing away waste. Water movement is also essential when natural filtration is used in the reef tank.

Inside all corals are millions upon millions of what is called symbiotic algae. The only exceptions are those corals which are classified as non-photosynthetic. These obtain their energy from feeding rather than from light itself. Photosynthetic corals obtain their primary source of energy from lightlight and then pass this energy on to the coral itself - a match made in heaven! and then also actively feed to obtain more energy. The symbiotic algae within the corals obtain energy from the

Different corals have different lighting requirements. For example, short polyp stony corals require much more intense lighting than soft corals do.

When choosing aquarium lighting for reef tanks you need to check two things in your reef tank. The first is the corals themselves, so that you can ascertain their requirements, and the other is the depth of the aquarium itself. Checking the depth is important as light can only penetrate so far into water before the colour is removed. It is amazing how quickly water can remove colour from light.

The depth of your aquarium as well as the corals you keep will determine which type of lighting you require. For example, if you keep soft corals then you could possibly just use fluorescent tubes. However, if you keep short polyp stony corals then metal halide lighting will be required. The depth needs to be checked because if you have a deep aquarium then the colour might not penetrate to the bottom of the aquarium. Water has the ability to be able to strip out colour at an amazing rate, therefore if you have a deep aquarium you will need lighting of enough power to be able to push the light to the bottom of the aquarium.

Another component of aquarium lighting for reef tanks which needs to be considered is that of Kelvin. Kelvin is the colour output and the higher the rating in the Kelvin scale the bluer the light will be. At the other end of the scale the lower the rating the more yellow/red it will be. Normally in a reef aquarium a Kelvin rating of 10,000K to 13,000K is utilised. This is a white/blue colour which replicates life on the reef at a depth of about 30m.

When placing corals into your reef aquarium you will need to first check what their lighting requirements are and then place them at the bottom of the reef tank and slowly move them up over time until they are in their final position. - by Peter Cunningham (Aquarium Light)

About the Author

Peter Cunningham and John Cunningham combined have been keeping salt water aquarium's for nearly 35 years. Their website Salt Water Aquarium provides a wealth of resources for learning how to start and maintain salt water aquariums.