LIGHTING

Aquarium lights are now more creative than ever before. They have been abundantly popular in the previous years, and they are still available today as the pink fluorescent lights that use starters and ballast. Marine set-ups provide more light availability, such as actinic and white lights with different Kelvin intensity. The age of the LED bulbs has provided excitement to tanks. They are reasonable in price but very durable.

They are also flexible in design and color. They come in strips, tubes, and T5 types. Dancing multiple colored LEDS are quite popular, too. I use the LED T5 type (“Lite plus”) white light. I like it because of its capability to interconnect without gaps. It helps me by having the flexibility to adjust to the length of the tank. This type of light comes in different lengths. I have not tried their other color varieties.

LED LIGHTS

These come in different colors and intensity. Their designs come in strips, tubes, and cliptype hangovers.

TANNING LIGHT

These are used basically for Arowana to intensify their red color. I am planning to try, to see if it would enhance the red color of the Goldfish.

REGULAR FLUORESCENT BULB

This is the conventional white light we use for our household. The most common are the pink ones. It’s important to note that these pin-colored lights do not perform well for live plants.

ACTINIC

This promotes the growth of zooxanthellae algae that are essential for the wellbeing of all photosynthetic corals and invertebrates (not macroalgae). Primarily used for marine tanks.

50/50 OR DOUBLE

The 50/50 bulbs were developed specifically for marine and reef tanks where one might want the best of both worlds: healthy invertebrates as well as visual appeal.

METAL HALIDE

Most concentrated and intense artificial aquarium lighting. It is particularly well suited for deep plant freshwater tanks and saltwater reef tanks containing Corals and Clams. This lighting adds a sparkle effect as it replicates the natural reflection of sunlight bouncing off of surface waves and onto the reef below.

The largest drawback to metal halide use is the amount of heat generated by the bulbs. Since they are essentially super powerful incandescent bulbs, they get extremely hot. At the very least, fans must be used. Usually, a chiller is required.

When you see the letter T with a number on the packaging of an aquarium light, it indicates the diameter of the tube. The smaller the number, the smaller the diameter.