Different Types of Aquarium Lighting

Aquarium lighting is available in many different types today on the market. Sorting out all the differences can be quite confusing but it is always important that you know which kind of lighting can benefit your aquarium the most. Always keep in mind the fact that the main goal of aquarium lighting is creation of a natural environment which stimulates the growth of fish, animals and plants in your fish tank. You will thus need to make the best decision possible when choosing aquarium lighting. Here are the main types of aquarium lighting that you should know about.

Florescent tubes

These basic comes come with a wide range of ‘kit’ aquariums and most people opt to use them in their aquariums since they are cheap and operating them is incredibly easy as well. For your basic tropical fish tank, this is the best type of aquarium lighting fixture to consider where the invertebrates or plants don’t need lighting. The tank can be illuminated by bulbs of different colors and you will be amazed by the wide range of selections that your local store has. Try different bulbs to ascertain the one that works best for you. There are many lengths of florescent tubes that you can use for lighting up your aquarium and the tube diameter also varies considerably. During the replacement of the bulb, ensure that you check the diameter and the length of the bulb to ensure that you are buying the best for your aquarium. Different numbers are used for ascertaining the diameter of each tube such as T12, T5 and T8 and you will need to write the number down and match it during the replacement.

Power Compact Lighting & T5

The introduction of this lighting has really diversified the options available for lighting aquariums for all types of fish tanks. The bulbs are quite thin and this allows less electricity to be able to produce much more power compared to the typical fluorescent bulb. There are many different spectrums and wattages of power contact bulbs. You have the option of buying a single bulb which comes with an actinic and daylight tube or even a mixture of either actinic spectrums or daylight spectrums. It allows you to be very creative in building a lighting system which can fully meet your needs. You will be able to buy complete hoods comprising of lights having multiple bulb arrangements. You can run a full reef tank if you have enough bulbs especially if you use T5 bulbs.

HQI & Metal halide lighting

This is the kind of lighting that you should consider if you want to have that shimmering effect and grow corals. A lot of reef tanks are actually powered with this light and are capable of making planted tanks exceptionally beautiful. The latest ones on the market are the smaller and highly efficient HQI bulbs that come with a plethora of benefits.

LED Lighting

LED lighting is the most energy efficient type of aquarium lighting and can be used on all types of tanks as they can vary in intensity. Recent times have seen a great success with LED lighting in aquariums and more and more manufacturers are producing them in many different color variations. LED lighting is preferred by many aquarists as it is very cost effective and affordable compared to most of the lighting options on the market. They are also relatively cheaper on electricity bills since they produce about 8 times more light/ per watt of the energy used. LED lights generates less heat which has very minimal impact on your aquarium and this means that you don’t have to run a chiller which allows you to cut back on power bill considerably. LED lighting is an excellent choice for plant and coral life and their compact nature makes it easy to adjust them accordingly.