Aquarium Lighting

The importance of the right Aquarium Lighting

The right aquarium lighting does not only provide a more enjoyable aquatic view, it is also crucial when it comes to health of your underwater friends.

Fish are living creatures that were intended to live in the wild. Therefore it is essential that you create an environment that is as close to the real thing as humanly possible. To simulate a natural environment your fish need lighting that covers the full visible light spectrum. Some sources of light do not cover the full spectrum and therefore aren't suited as aquarium lighting. Proper lighting is essential to all living creatures, and fish are no exception.

Also, as you know, fish can't close their eyes. This means thats you must make sure to put the lights out at night. This will prevent stress

For a large tank you will need to choose a lighting system that is more intense otherwise the light rays won't be able to penetrate the full depth of the tank.

There is an unending variety of lighting systems available. Furthermore, different types of fish and plants have different lighting requirements. If you are not yet an aquatic expert and just starting out you need to do some thourough research or get help from an expert to make sure that your fish have the best possible living conditions.

Choosing the right aquarium lighting

Organisms in your aquarium

Reef aquariums and planted freshwater aquariums require more lighting than fish only aquariums. You will need to choose the proper lighting for your tank based partly on what types of organims that exist in your aquarium.

Aquariums with live rock:

When choosing lighting for an aquarium with live rock you need to distinguish between:

Tanks that have live rock with intent of growing beneficial bacteria (these do not need high output lighting)

Tanks that have live rock with intent to cultivate photosynthetic animals or macro algae that are common on live rock need high output lighting (these DO require high output lighting)

You must also realize that an aquarium with hard corals such as Acropora needs more lighting than a tank with soft corals.

Lighting and the size of your aquarium

Another important aspect to consider when choosing aquarium lighting is the size of your aquarium. The deeper your aquarium the more light is needed. Since light does not penetrate water very well you will need to choose a concentrated source of light - such as metal halide lighting -if your aquarium is more than 20-25 inches deep.

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