The Importance Of Lighting

A lot of aquarists will underestimate the importance of lighting in their aquarium. Alot of aquariums are supplied with a light source which can be misleading as being an adequate source for your aquarium. Often this lighting needs to be replaced with a sufficient source.

For Marine and Tropical fish keepers lighting is vital in order to keep an aesthetically pleasing looking aquarium and for the heath of corals and invertebrates. The light provided is used for the assistance in digestion, feeding growth and reproduction. Plants also need light for survival is it feeds the process of photosynthesis.

Corals are especially vulnerable to light conditions therefore it is essential to replace your bulbs as often as every 8 months. The human eye may not visibly see the different in the light output but it has to be remember that corals are highly sensitive to the light conditions

Today there are an extensive variety of aquarium lighting available. So if you own a reef tank for example, you do have to be especially careful to provide the right lighting to have success in growing corals. Corals are strongly photosynthesizing which means they are using light as energy and if there is not enough energy (light) provided, corals will not grow and may die. Aquarium lighting is provided by short and long wavelength, blue and yellow light.

You need a smaller amount of short wavelength light (actinic) and a larger amount of long wave light (yellow), depending on the type of aquarium life you are trying to promote.

A freshwater tank will also require lighting to survive the amount of light depends n how many plants you would like in there. The basic rule is the more plants you have = the more lighting required.

LIGHT INTENSITY- needs to be considered when looking at your lighting in your aquarium. If it is a fish only tank then the light you pick is purely for viewing pleasures only. If you have any photosynthesis in your tank like tropical, marine or reef tanks with corals or anemones etc, you will need to provide this with the correct lighting.

There are many types of lighting used in the industry nowadays. Fluorescent tubes, T12, T8 or T5’s and Halide lighting – 150w, 250w or 400w. Are the most common.