April 5, 2009
Whats The Best Type Of Aquarium Lights For My Set Up
If you have decided an aquarium is what you want you are going to be in for a treat. Aquariums are beautiful and the fun part is – you can set them up however you want. The aquarium lights are going to be one of the enhancing parts of the aquarium. They will increase the detail of your tank and make the dcor you use more noticeable. The type you use will depend upon whether your aquarium is going to be for fish or for a reptile. Since there are many different needs for certain fish as well as reptiles the focus will be on an aquarium for fish.
The best light for your aquarium is the light that will enhance it to its fullest. It is also important to consider the type of light for the fish and plants you decide to use in your aquarium. Live plants add realism and not so with the plastic kinds of plants. Live plants are beneficial to the fish as well and the type of plant you decide you want will ultimately be your personal choice.
When it comes to aquarium lights, the compact fluorescent type may be your choice. If you want the aquarium to be brightly lit, this is a good choice. The compact type uses either two or four lamps for greater luminance. A single bulb of this type will light the same as two regular fluorescent lights. The compact fluorescent lighting is usually what people choose when upgrading from the regular fluorescent lighting.
A different type of lighting is known as the Lunar lights and this duplicates natural moonlight and is also known as moon lights. Lunar lights are preferred by many others because of the effect it over the occupants of the aquarium. It gives the feeling of a natural setting for the aquariums residents. The name Led light is another name for Lunar lights.
The full hood light with fluorescent lighting is the choice of many first time aquarium owners. The bulb can be changed to a different color if you want but make sure it is bright enough to enhance the objects in the tank, mainly your fish. A white reflector type light will give you the maximum lighting for your aquarium.
Another type of lighting that is popular is Halide systems and usually used by the more dedicated of aquarium owners and really into the building of aquariums. These lights produce hundreds of watts of light and one metal halide light will out perform any standard fluorescent or compact fluorescent bulb.
There are a number of different kinds of lightning for your aquarium. They are the VHO (very high output) bulbs and standard fluorescent bulbs. These are recognized for the amount of light they project out and are similar. The VHO can put out almost 3 times that of the standard fluorescent and this is the big difference between the two types of bulbs.
When you have decided on the type of aquarium lights that you will use, the next question will be how long you should leave them on. This should be similar to our day and night. The amount of time it stays daylight will be the period of time to leave the lights on. Turn them off when it is night time so the fish will experience day and night just as we do. Approximately twelve hours of daylight should be plenty for plants as well as the fish. However, you must keep in mind what the fish require as far as lighting. So some fish may require longer periods of day and night.
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