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Types of Aquarium Light Fixtures
 

With all aquarium light systems available today, it can be a headache trying to decide which one is best for your tank. Each type of lighting fixture has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Aquarium lighting fixtures fall into 4 basic types:

Light Strips

  • Are either laid on the top of or clamped to the edge of the tank.
  • These fixtures normally contain one or more fluorescent and/or power compact lights.

Light Hoods

  • Are units which contain light bulbs and are placed directly on the top on an aquarium.
  • Can house combinations of fluorescents, power compacts and/or HQI metal halides

Light Pendants

  • Usually house metal halide fixtures.
  • Suspended from the ceiling directly over an open tank

Light Canopies

  • Box-like structures which mount on the tank.
  • Normally match the style of the aquarium stand.
  • Can contain any number of light fixtures including fluorescent, power compact, HQI metal halides or LEDs
Most novice and many experienced saltwater aquarists are hesitant to start a reef tank or upgrade their Fish Only or Fish Only with Live Rock tank to a reef tank because they don't understand the lighting requirements of corals and/or they believe the high price of reef tank lighting is out of their reach. Here is a simple explanation of how much lighting you will need for your reef aquarium and light fixture pricing information.

Reef Tank Lighting "Rule of Thumb"

The simple "rule of thumb" explanation of the lighting requirements for corals is: Three and a half (3 1/2) watts of over 6700K lighting for each gallon of tank water for soft corals and four and a half (4 1/2) watts of over 6700K lighting for each gallon of tank water for hard corals. An example would be a 55 gallon tank would require 192.5 watts (55 X 3.5) of light for soft corals or 247.5 watts (55 X 4.5) for hard corals. There are exceptions to the rule of thumb (some coral species require more or less light than their hard or soft brethren), but for the most part, the "rule" is workable.

Lighting Types

Fortunately (or unfortunately) there is a variety of lighting types available for today's aquarists to select from. Each type has it's own advantages (size, output, spectrum) and disadvantages (size, heat output, spectrum).

Daylight or Actinic?

Without going into a long winded explanation, accept the fact that corals and other invertebrates (clams, anemones) need light in the 6700K (the light at the equator at noon) to 10000K range. 20000K bulbs are also available and work well for reaching the bottom of deeper reef tanks. Corals will thrive without actinic light, but you may want to add an actinic light to bring out the blue and green colors in your tank.

Fluorescent

Available in NO (Normal Output), HO (High Output), VHO (Very High Output), Actinic and 50/50 (half Daylight, half Actinic).

Compact Bulbs

Also known as Mini Twist Compact Fluorescent Bulbs, these bulbs are fairly new on the market. CFL's are power efficient, producing much more light in the right spectrum per watt than their incandescent cousins, using the same screw in fixtures. Cool running, efficient and inexpensive, these bulbs may be the reef light of choice for the future. These bulbs are not currently available in aquarium fixtures, but that hasn't been a problem for creative DIYers.

Power Compact

These bulbs provide light in the daylight and actinic blue spectrum range. These bulbs produce twice the light as the same size fluorescent bulbs. Available in 6700K and 10000K.

Metal Halide

A very efficient light for reef tanks, providing high intensity light in the right spectrum range for reef tanks. Their downside is the amount of heat they produce and their higher cost for fixtures and replacement bulbs.

 

 

     

                      

 

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