Many people who like the aspect of having piece of natural habitat in their homes want to place beautiful saltwater fish tank or freshwater aquarium in their living room. However, they often do not realize that they need to work really hard to maintain the aquarium and its inhabitants. The water needs to be changed regularly. They need to arrange food for the fishes on a daily basis. Apart from that, one needs to decorate the aquarium as well.
Aquarium lighting is very important aspect of the successful aquarium and many people do not give it that much importance. The fishes, plants and corals need specific amount of light for their growth. That is why you need to arrange proper aquarium lighting.
Aquarium lighting should be designed in the way to mimic natural daylight. You need to keep it on for 8-10 hours a day. You also need to check whether the light is increasing the heat of the water in the aquarium. If that is happening then you need to take care of that by installing aquarium chiller. The water temperature needs to be comfortable for the fishes and other aquarium animals and plants and you need to do that properly by regulating it as close as possible to the natural water temperature. Aquarium cooling fans can be a useful tool in managing water temperature without a high cost of aquarium chillers. Aquarium cooling fans are usually installed within aquarium canopy and work in the way of moving hot air from the inside of the canopy.
There are several different types of fish tank lighting used in the modern aquarium setup.
From standard incandescent lighting, PowerCompact PC lighting, high output T5 fixtures , Very High Output VHO lighting, Metal Halide lighting, and latest LED aquarium lighting. Aquarium lights can be installed in the form or retro kit which is usually installed in the wooden canopy or fully integrated aquarium light fixture.
Freshwater aquarium fish tanks are mostly utilizing fluorescent type of lighting systems like T5, power compact and VHO lights.
Saltwater fish tanks and marine reef tanks mostly utilize high output fluorescent T5 and VHO lights in combination with intense metal halide lights.
Latest technical innovations bring LED lights into the spectrum of interest of marine and reef hobbyists. LED light fixtures offer high intensity light with very low heat output which is prefer for saltwater reef systems where keeping low water temperature is of high importance. LED light fixtures also offer high controllability when it comes to output and color spectrum of the light.
Nowadays you need to be really specific about your lighting requirement. Doing your homework before making the purchase is a key for putting together a successful fish tank.
Another popular lighting type for both freshwater fish tanks and reef aquariums is aquarium moonlights. Aquarium moonlights are usually composed of low voltage LED modules powered by low voltage transformer. Some more advanced moonlight LED systems incorporate sophisticated controllers that mimic natural moon cycles. These aquarium LED systems have been known to promote spawning in both fishes and corals. These aquarium moonlights can create very attractive environment where livestock can be observed after the main lights are off.