Aquarium lighting and lamp selection

Proper lighting selection for your aquarium is essential for the well-being and aesthetic appeal of your fish and plants. In addition to improving the setup’s aesthetic appeal, proper lighting keeps your aquatic environment alive and well. Choosing the appropriate kind and intensity of light can seem overwhelming due to the abundance of options.

We’ll examine the various kinds of aquarium lights and their advantages in this guide. Knowing how different types of lights impact your aquarium—from LED to fluorescent and halide—will help you make an informed decision. We’ll also go over things to think about when choosing lighting, like the requirements of your particular fish and plants and the overall look you’re going for.

You’ll know more about how to properly light your aquarium by the end of this article, resulting in an aquatic environment that is both aesthetically pleasing and healthy. The performance of your aquarium can be greatly impacted by choosing the appropriate lighting solution, regardless of your level of experience as a hobbyist.

The health and growth of your aquarium’s fish and plants depend on the lighting system you choose. The type of lamp you choose can affect the overall health of your aquatic environment as well as the water’s clarity and color vibrancy. The fundamentals of aquarium lighting will be covered in this article, along with the advantages of various lamp options so you can design the ideal environment for your underwater world.

General characteristics of aquarium lighting

It is worth starting the conversation with determining the lighting power for a particular aquarium. REFERENCE: Power is measured in Watts. Watt (Russian. abbreviation: W, international: W) is a unit of power in the International System of Units (SI). Named after the Scots-Irish inventor James Watt (Russian. Watt). "Generally accepted" standards for lighting power roam the RuNet: 0.1-0.3 Watts per liter of net volume of aquarium water (hereinafter referred to as "Watt/l") – for a reservoir without live aquarium plants. 0.2-0.4 Watt/l – for keeping shade-loving fish (catfish, night fish). At the same time, you can keep live aquarium plants in the aquarium that do not require strong lighting: cryptocorynes, vallisneria, java moss, some echinodorus, and others. 0.4-0.5 Watt/l – suitable for aquariums with a limited number of plants. With such lighting, most aquarium plants will grow, but their growth will be slowed down, and their appearance will be distorted – the plants will stretch upward with all their might – closer to the light source. 0.5-0.8 Watt/l – optimal illumination suitable for a beautiful, decorative aquarium with live aquarium plants. 90% of plants develop well and take on bright colors. 0.8-1 Watt/l and higher – lighting necessary for dense planting of aquarium plants or for keeping ground cover plants. Such aquariums are called: Dutch, Amano. aquascape, in a word =)

The thoughts of Takashi Amano and ADA on this subject are equally intriguing. Amanov’s method of calculating lamp power differs significantly from the conventional approach. Amano clearly deviates from the watts per liter calculation. Takashi Amano’s characteristics of aquarium lighting led to the conclusion that the lighting power (lamps) is not directly correlated with reservoir volume. For instance, Takashi Amano states that 8 Watts per liter is too little for small aquariums and that 2 Watts per liter is too much for volumes greater than 450 liters. Amano makes the assumption that illumination is more dependent on the water’s surface area when he makes this claim.

In addition, the above figures are approximate and conditional. Much depends not only on the wattage of the lighting, but also on the parameters of the aquarium itself (length, width, height), on the state of the aquarium water and other smaller parameters: aging of lamps, losses in the cover glass, air heating, etc. Moreover, measuring the lighting power in watts is incorrect. After all, this value only indicates the consumption of electricity by the lighting source, but not its strength – the intensity of lighting. The power of an iron is also measured in Watts, but it does not glow! It is more correct to measure lighting in Lumens.
To conclude the conversation about watts, which can be continued indefinitely, going deeper and deeper into the subtleties and nuances, one more point should be noted: lighting power – this is the primary parameter to start from when deciding on the maintenance of aquarium plants. No UDO (fertilizers), nor supply of CO2 (carbon dioxide) will save the situation in the absence of proper lighting. And here"s the thing.
The consumption of CO2 by plants directly depends on the power, intensity of aquarium lighting. To be more precise, on the total daylight. The intensity of photosynthesis of aquarium plants is determined not by the concentration of CO2, nor by micro and macro elements (UDR), but only by LIGHTING! AND NOT THE VICE VERSA!
The process of photosynthesis of plants occurs only in the presence of light energy, while plants convert water, CO2 and nutrients (UDR) into plant tissue. If the aquarium does not have the proper level of lighting, photosynthesis simply does not occur, CO2 and UDO remain simply unclaimed.
When there is enough lighting, there is a sufficient amount of CO2 and UDO, you get a phenomenal result – lush growth and bright greenery! A visual external sign of photosynthesis is the formation of oxygen bubbles on the leaves of plants a couple of hours after turning on the aquarium lighting. And this is possible only with a balance of all 3 factors: Light + CO2 + UDO. Bubbling is the oversaturation of the aquarium water with oxygen, which is released by the plants. This is a visual sign of excellent photosynthesis and the state of the aquarium.

A couple of words about mistakes! A common mistake when keeping aquarium plants is an attempt to use special aquarium lamps for aquarium plants with peaks of the red and blue spectrum or an attempt to increase daylight hours to compensate for the lack of lighting.
Unfortunately, these manipulations do not give the desired result and even on the contrary lead to an outbreak of algae: the appearance of filamentous algae, beards and other troubles.
The thesis stubbornly wanders on the Internet: “Aquarium plants need a red and blue spectrum” … Although you are cracking, but only it is nothing more! Why then are there other spectra? Has the Almighty really gone too far? The answer suggests itself – NO! Contrary to the ephemeral ideas about the preference of plants only for the red and blue spectrum, light absorption occurs almost uniformly throughout the entire spectral range of visible light. The use of lamps, lighting with peaks in the red and blue areas is unfounded. Lamps of sufficient power, with a wide spectrum, with a color temperature from 6500 to 8000 Kelvin, that"s all you need! The use of special lamps takes place when implementing the principle of mixed lighting, t.e. when one light source complements another.
Now let"s digress a little from the lighting parameters and talk about its sources. If further in the text you come across incomprehensible quantities and measurements – do not be alarmed, below we will also cover this issue.

Lighting sources for the aquarium

An incandescent lightbulb

Incandescent light bulb (IL) – these are the well-known “Ilyich light bulbs”. Lighting in such lamps occurs by heating a tungsten filament or its alloys.
This type of lighting was actively used in Soviet times, due to the lack of an alternative. Now, it has sunk into oblivion. Advantages of IL: Surprisingly, the spectrum of incandescent light bulbs is as close as possible to sunlight, which is very welcomed by aquarium plants. Why is such a good source of lighting already gone to waste? Disadvantages of IL: Incandescent lamps have a low/meager efficiency (hereinafter referred to as “efficiency”) and light output. For example, a 100-watt IL has only 2.6% efficiency, 97% is wasted – on heat generation. Light output, alas, is 17.5 Lumens/W. The service life of the incandescent lamp is also short – 1000 hours.

Conclusions: Growing aquarium plants will require an enormous amount of FL due to the low efficiency. which will produce an enormous amount of heat, overheating the water, and harming fish and plants alike. It is certainly possible to try installing four coolers inside the aquarium cover, but this is not a cure-all!

Halogen light source

We can refer to halogen lamps (HL) as the "Next generation" of incandescent lamps. Compact and more highly technical. The service life is up to 4000 hours, the light output is 28 lumens per watt, and the efficiency indicators are marginally higher. It is also not advised to use such lamps in an aquarium for obvious reasons.

Fluorescent lighting

Fluorescent lamps (FL) – the most popular, running, gas-discharge source of aquarium lighting. Why? Advantages: Firstly, an affordable pricing policy, secondly: the light output of LL is several times higher than that of LN (LL in 23 W = LN in 100 W), lifespan is ten times longer. Disadvantages: Firstly, the spectrum of many FL is discrete – cut. Only special aquarium lamps have a more or less good spectral range. Despite their long service life, LLs need to be changed every 6-12 months, since by this time they lose all their “useful properties”. Plus, LLs have low permeability into the water column and provide diffused light, effective use of such lamps is possible with the use of reflectors/reflectors.
Speaking about LLs, it should be noted that they are divided by type into T8, T5 and others, for example, T4 (rarely used in aquarium keeping). T8 – the most popular aquarium lamps, a certain combination of price and quality. T5 – is significantly better than T8, but an order of magnitude more expensive. Due to its small diameter and optimal luminous efficiency at 36°C, T5s provide more intense and more directional light than T8.

Metal halide lighting

Metal halide lamps (MGL) (MG), panels, spotlights
If you decide to recreate the Amanovsky grassland in your aquarium or the height of your aquarium is 60 cm. and higher, then MHL is the ideal solution! MHL is used by many professional aquarists. Why? Advantages: reasonable pricing policy, power, light flux direction, light temperature from 2500K (yellow light) to 20000K (blue), huge productivity (100 Lumens/W), up to 15000 hours of service life.
Simply put, with small dimensions of MHL, you get excellent color rendering and high luminous flux during the entire service life of the lamps. The aquarium will begin to shine, flickering waves will be created on the bottom, shadows from fish and plants will be visible. Metal halide lamps "break through" the deepest aquariums. In a word – this is an excellent source of aquarium lighting, both for plants and fish, and for the overall visual picture of the aquarium perception! Disadvantages: Using such a light source is possible only on hangers or a stand at a distance of 30 cm. to the thickness of water, the reason is that MG emit a lot of heat, they are very hot!

LED lighting

LED lamps (LED), panels, spotlights.
If aquarists have somehow come to some kind of consensus on MG, then there is no agreement on the use of LEDs in an aquarium, as they say, some in the forest, some for firewood. Firstly, this is due to the rapid growth and development of LED technologies, in connection with which, there is a lot of outdated information on the Internet. Secondly, the lack, at present, of full-fledged practice of application.
In order not to refute the countless myths about LEDs. Let"s say this, at present there are excellent LED panels/spotlights for aquarium plants, with a wide/full spectrum, with a normal light temperature of 6500K, with a sufficient number of Lm (lumens). Add to this the colossal ergonomics and economy, safety (they work at low voltage). Plus the actual absence of heating from the front side and tolerable heating from the back of the light fixture, which allows the use of LEDs under the aquarium cover, t.e. without hangers and stands. The visual effect is almost identical to MGL. Disadvantage: Pricing policy, good panels and spotlights are worth quite expensive, but it is worth noting that if earlier – these were offensive prices, now prices have become affordable for most consumers.

LED strip

A question is often asked on forums whether it is possible to use household/furniture LED strips in an aquarium. The answer is YES, but only as additional lighting or as night lighting. Unfortunately or fortunately, most LED strips are low-power, in order to provide the necessary lighting intensity, you need to buy and install kilometers of LED strip under the lid. This paragraph can be refuted, because.k. SD technologies do not stand still and are constantly evolving. However, most LED strips are not the best solution to the lighting issue. Note 2017. – refuted ))) There are powerful LED strips, google them.
We can talk about LED lighting for a very long time, there are too many nuances, as well as about any other popular aquarium light source. But, I still hope that the above layout will help the reader figure out what"s what and take the basis.
If you have questions or doubts, I suggest discussing them on our Forum.
Concluding this part of the article, let"s pay attention to what maestro Takashi Amano uses when solving the lighting issue. I think it will be interesting.

ADA Grand Solar I with LL-T5 2x36W and one MH-MH-HQI 150W, or simply ADA Solar I with one MH-HQI 150W lamp, is the suspension that Amano primarily uses.

The conclusion is obvious, metal halide lamps in pure form or with the addition of LL (mixed lighting) are the best option for professional maintenance of aquarium plants and aquascaping. It is difficult to argue with the guru of aquarium hobby.
It is worth noting that using the principle of mixed lighting, Takashi Amano turns on the metal halide lamp for only 3 hours, the rest of the time the LL lights work. From this we can draw the following conclusions:
1. There is no need to “fry” the aquarium 12 hours a day. You need to create a peak of intense lighting, and the rest of the time the lighting should be calm. This approach is absolute, because the sun does not shine 24 hours a day: first there is dawn, then the zenith, and then sunset. Actually, this is a natural phenomenon and needs to be imitated in an aquarium.
2. At the same time, in the absence of proper lighting, shining with such light 24 hours a day is not the best option. The sun does not do this!

We will also include an intriguing table from Aqua Design Amano below as a sort of guide.

Furthermore, Eric Olson’s calculation of fluorescent lamp power in an aquarium with plants was based on Takashi Amano’s aquarium lighting data.

Lighting W/m2 20L, 40L, 80L, 200L, 400L Low 200 15W, 24W, 38W, 69W, 110W Medium 400 30W, 47W, 79W, 137W, 220W High 800 60W, 94W, 149W, 274W, 440W

Here’s another tip-cheat to help you choose how many LL to use: – What level of lighting power (low, medium, or high) do you want? – Will a cover or suspension be used, and if so, how high above the water will it be? – How deep is the aquarium? – Will the mixed lighting principle be applied? – T5 or T8 LED lamps, or some other kind of lamp? The kind of reflectors.

Daylight mode and control options

As mentioned earlier, never attempt to use the duration of daylight to make up for aquarium lighting deficiencies! The only result of this will be "water bloom." For FL lamps, 8 to 10 hours of daylight is ideal; for MGL or LED lamps, it could be as little as 6 to 8 hours. Although the length of aquarium lighting is obviously a matter of personal preference, it is nevertheless possible to state with certainty that the information floating around the Internet suggesting that plants should receive 12 or even 14 hours of daylight is by no means dogma! Furthermore, an algae outbreak is typically brought on by this kind of continuous aquarium lighting.

How to simplify the process of adjusting the length of aquarium lighting. It’s really easy! Fortunately, timer sockets are not as rare as they once were. They are available in both mechanical and electronic varieties at most home and construction supply stores.

Aquarists claim that mechanical timers are easy to use, affordable (less than 200 rubles), and less prone to breaking. Unlike mechanical timers, which malfunction when turned off or during power surges, electronic timers are more sophisticated, straightforward, and cost about 500 rubles. This last point is very significant!

Currently available for LED lighting is a high-quality dimmer, which allows the LED sources to be turned on at dawn, zenith, and sunset.

The health and happiness of your fish and plants depend on the lighting you choose for your aquarium. Proper lighting does more than just make your tank look better; it also encourages the growth of aquatic plants and keeps your fish in a healthy environment.

Think about the type of light that most closely resembles natural conditions when choosing aquarium lamps. Because of their efficiency and versatility in light spectrum customization, LED lights are well-liked for use with fish and plants alike. Another excellent choice are fluorescent lights, which offer a wide range of light suitable for a variety of aquatic life.

Consider the duration and intensity of the lighting in addition to the type of light. Problems like algae growth and unhealthy plants can result from either too much or too little light. To keep an aquarium ecosystem healthy and balanced, try to schedule your lighting to correspond with the cycles of the day and night.

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