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Aquarium Lighting

The most common question about aquarium lighting is what you want to keep in there. If you don’t want to grow plants or you want to stick with some undemanding plants, you’ll be fine with one Fluorescent Tube. However if you want lots of plants most of which are demanding, you’ll need at least two fluorescent tubes.

If you want to keep only marine fish, one tube will be sufficient, but if you want to keep most invertebrates, you’ll need at least four.

To get the best spectrum for photosynthesis and aesthetics, use a mixture of bulbs.

The most commonly used fluorescent tubes on the market are T5s and T8s.
- T5s have an output power in watts that is greater than a T8 of similar length.

If your tank is deeper than 60 cm/24″, the T5s or metal halide will be better. They are more powerful and will penetrate better than standard T8s. You can boost the amount of light that you plants receive by adding a reflector to each of your lamps.
Metal Halide Lighting is much more intense than other type of lighting and penetrates much deeper water. It’s ideal for light-loving plants and invertebrates. It also provides more natural type of lighting. You get shadows and glitter lines, which you don’t get with fluorescent tubes. Some people use a combination of tubes and metal halides to get the lighting effect they want.

Metal Halide Lamps can be suspended from the ceiling or fixed to the wall. They can get quite hot which can cause tank to overheat. To avoid this, manufacturer’s instructions should be followed as they need to be far enough from the aquarium to avoid any splashes and to prevent overheating of the water.

When dealing with aquarium lighting, you should always refer to the type, strength and positioning of lighting required for the specific plant life and animals you are keeping. Once you know your requirements, we can help you identify the lighting you need.