Request: A Guide to Aquarium Lighting.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
J

jvin85

Gambusia
MFK Member
Oct 28, 2010
153
2
18
Canada
Anyone like to write a guide on aquarium lighting?

I'm just entering the novice stage of the hobby (upgrading to a 90G soon), I've found the stickied guides in this forum extremely helpful and they've helped me make a lot of informed decisions.

I just started doing my research into aquarium lighting and I'm finding that there's no really useful guide out there. The information seems very scattered. I'm just looking for something that could mention different types of lighting, uses for each, and possibly list some company brands. (Maybe even a couple of pictures of the different types).
 
you can most likely get your questions answered here
based upon tank size, footprint, livestock, and plants

old school philosophy sais 2-5 watts per gallon with T8 or T12 fixtures

frequent the planted tank forums as thats where light gets sophisticated

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=364238

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49718

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73446

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IMO lighting is one of the most over looked aspects of a nice display tank. People send hundreds or thousands of dollars on a setup and then throw a shop light on top (if you go this route, spend the money to buy quality aquarium blubs from an LFS).

Color temp (kelvin) is important. 20k blue (great for corals and some freshwater fish like africian cichlids), 14k slight blue tint, 10k crisp white, 5,100-6,500k is considered daylight, 4k> yellow. Choose a color temp that will bring out the fishes colors the best. 10k is my favorite. If you have live plants 10k may or may not work.

More on Kelvin http://www.lightbulbsdirect.com/page/001/CTGY/ColorTemp
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*Metal Halide - bright, shimmering sunlight effect, run hot, high wattage, expensive.
*LED - the light of the future, bright, shimmering sunlight effect, run cool, low wattage, very expensive.
*Fluorescent - tired and true, no shimmer effect, medium to high wattage, run warm, cost medium to expensive.
*Halogen\Xenon (DIY) - bright, shimmering effect, run hot, high wattage, medium cost, yellow light (3k), not good for most situations but can work on the right tank.
*High Pressure Sodium - bright, shimmering effect, run hot, high wattage, medium-high cost, yellow light (2-2,700k), not good for most situations.
 
I agree that lighting is one of the most overlooked aspects of aquatics. I see people willing to spent $75 on a fish, but do not want to spend $50 for a bulb.

I now favor and use T5 fixtures. Back when I used T12s, I always liked the combo of a Coralife 20K and 50/50 bulb for my Africans. The double fixture made the cichlids in my 90 look great.
 
Well I know the basic aquarium setups that come with the black plastic hood/canopy and a light fixture placed on top of a glass/plastic pane, and then there's the glass hood with the same light fixture placed just on top.

Then there's this other type that I've been seeing that stands above the tank on supports on the sides (not sure what it's called), I believe I saw a brand name "coralife" for the fixture. It was aesthetically more apealing and I found it much brighter than the regular blackhood/fixture types seen on basic aquarium setups.

I just checked my current 35G setup, bought it a few months ago on craigslist. It's a pretty standard plastic hood/fixture with a T8 Glo bulb in it.

I'm just worried that when I upgrade to a bigger tank I'm going to end up wasting time and money trying to figure out the right type of lighting conditions.
 
jvin85;4619640; said:
Then there's this other type that I've been seeing that stands above the tank on supports on the sides (not sure what it's called), I believe I saw a brand name "coralife" for the fixture. It was aesthetically more apealing and I found it much brighter than the regular blackhood/fixture types seen on basic aquarium setups.
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That's probably a High Output T5 maybe a power compact. I don't get into fluorescent much. If I'm going to spend the money on a high end unit like that, then I just go MH.
 
If I'm not mistaken MH have to be suspended a foot or two above the tank to avoid heating the water up??
 
Depends on the enclosure. On saltwater they run higher wattage MH for their corals; they also have to run them 10-12hrs every day (not a SW guy so not 100% sure how long they run them but it's a lot). In those cases a chiller is usually needed. I run three 150w on a 220g, 3hrs a day on a timer when I'm most likely to be around the tank. Cuts the electric bill and light available for algea. A reefer would run 250 or 400w. I use 70w fixtures on a 180g with low light plants. with MH you need a bulb every 2ft to get complete light coverage.
 
Anyone have a suggestion for what light color to choose? I have a red devil and a green terror. Should I do red and green leds? I was thinking white, almost as much blue (double as moonlight), and a little red. I don't want to buy it and not like it though. Any help here?
 
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