Choosing The Best Lighting For Your Fish Tank
Posted by admin on January 24th, 2009 filed in Saltwater Fish Aquariums
Choosing The Best Lighting For Your Fish Tank
Fish-Only Lighting
Naturally, any lighting package suitable for a reef system would also be acceptable on a fish-only tank, but not necessary.
Most fish don’t need a light above them in the aquarium. The light in the room is plenty of light for the fish. But many people prefer a lighted aquarium, for a better view of the fish and to add a luminous effect to the tank. Remember to turn the light off when not viewing the aquarium. This will reduce the growth of algae and green water in your aquarium.
Single or double fluorescent tubes under hoods are easiest to install and maintain. You simply set it on the tank rim and turn it on. The quality of the actual tube is generally geared for freshwater guppies and goldfish, rather than marine fish. The bulbs for these light hoods are easily replaced when they burn out.
Fluorescent tubes provide varying degrees of color enhancement to the fish, that results in the gorgeous splash of vibrant colors that are attractive. The basic wattages in standard tubes vary from 15 watts to 40 watts output power. The tube length generally equates to tube wattages. For those wanting a small system up to 55 gallons, and have no intention beyond fish-keeping, these plastic hoods with their Standard or NO fluorescent tubes do a fine job and provide many years of reliable service.
NO (Normal Ouput) fluorescent tubes feature a color temperature around 5500K and come with a stated useful lifespan of approximately 20,000 hours of illumination. The NO tubes are quite reasonable in price for those that are on a budget or first time aquarium hobbyist. However, they will not be able to accommodate nor support any photosynthetic animals, or provide the output intensity required for other extremely light hungry marine denizens.
Basically what you are accomplishing is simple and straightforward, basic illumination and the simulation of the day-night cycle as found in Nature.
(Do not depend on the aquarium lights to heat the aquarium water, use an aquarium heater and thermometer.)
Reef Aquarium Lighting
Different types of lighting used in the Reef Aquaria:
1.) Fluorescents
A - Normal Output (NO)
B - High Output (HO)
C - Very High Output (VHO)
D - Power Compacts (PC)
2.) Metal Halides (MH)
Metal Halide does not have any differentiating qualities other than wattage and spectral output.
Fluorescent tubes are the most practical and most cost effective of any lighting source. They burn relatively cool and last many months. What one must watch for when choosing these tubes are their Wattages, and CRI (Color Rendition Index), also referred to as "K" (Kelvin).
The general rule of thumb for a reef system is to use 3 to 5 watts per actual gallon of water in order to provide the intensity necessary for photosynthesis to take place within marine organism’s polyps or tissues.
When comparing the wattage of the NO (Normal Output) or Standard tubes to that of VHO (Very High Output) tubes, the wattage ratings on the NO/Standard tubes are much lower than that of the VHO tubes of the same length.
VHOs require special 1500mA ballasts or ballast kits, and are not compatible with any other ballast. mA is the ballast amperage rating.
What are Lumens?
Lumens is another area of common confusion. Wattage is the "power" of the tube. Lumens are the actual amount of light being "radiated", or the amount of light energy reaching the animals created by the power output of the tube.
Light tubes are rated by K (Kelvin), Color Temperature, or CRI and Wattage. As a general rule, aquarium related fluorescents in regard to reef habitats should not fall below the 5500K rating. Kelvin is the type of light that is produced. The lower the Kelvin, the more yellow the light. Hence, the higher the Kelvin, our light appears starkly white or blue-white. Getting way up there into the 20,000K range, the bulbs actually appear to glow dark blue!
The Kelvin ratings are an important consideration when you are talking DEPTH! The natural reef environment begins at the surface and can reach to depths down to 150 feet, or more!
The K rating, or CRI, gives you the ability to match the tank lighting to that of your animal’s natural habitat. Without this important advance, we could never hope to duplicate lighting conditions at DEPTH needed in our living rooms, and provide as near identical conditions for our corals and inverts as that in nature.
Wattage plays an important part here, too. The higher the wattage, the deeper it will penetrate. With the right K rating, a hobbyist could conceivably duplicate conditions at 50 feet, for example, in an aquarium only 18" deep. It’s a trade-off, higher wattage vs. proper K rating. Combine the two and you achieve reef lighting.
Metal Halides
Metal Halide (MH) lighting is the finest light energy source we have, and it can provide the right incredible intensity of light ideal for maintaining delicate to established SPS corals. They can also create all kinds of other issues to the aquarist.
Metal Halides are heat-radiating, and, therefore can have a direct effect on your water temperature. The use of fans and chillers becomes necessary ( which can be more costly).
A 12 inch MINIMUM distance from the MH bulb to the water surface is the general rule. This allows some air movement between the bulb and the water, lessening the heat impact. The fans, however, are still a necessity!
Power Compact Fluorescent
Compact fluorescent lamps are a great choice if you want to be more economical. They deliver a higher concentration of light energy in a smaller space than standard-length tubes. Their VHO quality gives them the ability to deliver the right amount of lumens in whatever color temperature (CRI, K., etc.) you choose.
Coral Lighting
Most corals can be placed into three major categories: Stony (exterior skeletons), Soft (no calcium-based skeleton), and SPS (Short/Small Polyped Stony).
When it comes to how corals grow, each category of animal requires its own unique lighting requirements. All corals share one common trait, photosynthesis, in order to survive. Marine animals survive by converting light energy into "food". Actually, this energy is consumed by zooxanthellae algaes that produce by-products that the corals need to survive. By differing the spectral output of our tank lighting we can actually influence the ultimate color/shading of our corals.
By: Tami Cooper
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Fish Tanks Plus is a leading provider of fish tanks and custom aquarium sales. From freshwater to saltwater fish tanks and aquariums, we have it all including fish tank lights, bulbs, large fish tanks, acrylic aquariums and even more aquarium lighting accessories . Fish Tanks Plus can customize your fish tank or aquarium and ship it directly to you.
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