Aquarium Lighting Is Important For The Health Of Your Tank

Getting the proper amounts and types of lighting in your fish
tank is vital to the health of your fish and plants. Even though
your fish are in an aquarium inside your home, they still need
to experience light as they would in nature so you want to be
sure to provide around 12 hours of light a day. Consider using a
timer so that you can consistently light the tank, inconsistent
lighting may stress your fish which can lead to health problems.

Although most aquarium setups come with hoods that have lights
fitted right into them, you can also purchase different types of
fish tank lighting to suit your needs. Most beginning aquarists
need only to use the lighting that is provided with the aquarium
as long as it is flourescent lighting and your tank is for fresh
water fish only.

If you want your fish to be their happiest, you should use
flourescent lighting. This lighting resembles natural light more
closely than incandescent and it will also show off the colors
of your fish better. Incandescent lighting also has the drawback
of throwing off a lot of heat which can cause the water in your
aquarium to become to hot which can harm your fish. If your
current setup has an incandescent light you should be able to
easily change the bulb out and replace it with flourescent.

For a fish only tank, it is recommended that you have 3 watts of
lighting for each gallon of water the tank holds. This ratio can
be important when it comes to algae control and if you notice
green algae taking over your tank it could be because your
lights are too strong. You should plan to replace your lights
every 8 months as the lighting will get weaker over time.

If you are planning on keeping plants in your fish tank, then
the lighting requirements are a bit different. If you have tried
to keep plants in your fish tank only to have them grow weak and
die after a few weeks it is simply because you do not have the
right type of light. Contrary to what many people think,
aquarium plants are not hard to keep alive and should last as
long as house plants with the proper lighting. If you want to
keep anything other than a basic fern plant, you need a
tri-phosphor tube or full spectrum flourescent bulb which will
provide the full spectrum of light that plants require.

Aquarium lighting for tanks with plants is different than for
all fish tanks. Aquarium plants can last as long as house plants
if cared for properly. While you may be able to keep some fern
like plants with regular flourescent aquarium lighting, most
plants require a full spectrum flourescent bulb or tri-phosphor
tubes which concentrate on the red, blue and green spectrum
ranges.

If you have a saltwater tank that you plan to keep only fish in
then the flourescent lighting you would use in a fresh water
tank is probably sufficient. If you want to keep live coral or
rocks you will need much more light. Many people start out
thinking they only want to keep fish but eventually want to
expand their horizons and add live rock and in this case it is
wise to get a hood that has fixtures for 2 tubes, that way you
can add more lighting as your aquarium grows. Although some
corals can survive with 4 watts of light per gallon, most will
need 5 – 8 watts to remain healthy and alive.

Keeping a fish tank can be a fun and relaxing hobby and with the
proper lighting you can help keep your fish healthy and happy
and feeling right at home in their tank.