There’s a huge range of bulbs to choose from to suit your requirements they’re cost-effective and energy-efficient, enabling you to customize your lighting set up exactly as you want it.

Normal output fluorescent lights are very versatile lighting systems and are the simplest and most popular way of illuminating your fish tank. There are several kinds of aquarium lights: Normal Output Fluorescent Lighting

You can read a detailed article about choosing lighting for aquarium plants in the article at this link.Īs a basic guideline, 20 lumens correspond to 0.5-watt T5 tube per liter or 40 lumens to 1-watt T5 tube per liter. The amount of light you need depends on the kind of plants you grow. Plants, however, need light for photosynthesis, and without light, your plants will die. Fish don’t need light to be happy we only illuminate our aquariums so that we can admire the contents. The lumen value that you need for your tank really depends on whether you have live plants or not. That makes it tricky to compare the amount of light a unit will produce because bulbs, LEDs, and fluorescent tubes are not directly comparable in that respect. Previously, light bulbs or tubes were classified in watts to reflect how much electricity the bulb used. When choosing aquarium lights, the lumen value is always shown on the packaging. Watts refers to how much energy a device uses or its energy consumption and is not related to the amount of light a bulb produces. Watts is the measurement of the electricity that a device uses, for example, an aquarium or grow light fitting. Lumens are the measurement of visible light that’s given off by a light source, which you can measure with a light meter. So, what’s the difference between lumens and watts? Lumens Lights are also measured in lumens and watts. You might be interested on our article about Riparium vs Paludarium. One way to avoid conflict is to use plastic or silk planting, which can look equally effective without giving you the headache of finding lighting that suits both environments.

If you keep a paludarium, you’ll need to choose lighting that suits both the creatures that live beneath the water and the plants that dwell above it. Generally, carpet plants, those that are low-growing, and those with red or purple coloration require higher light levels than other species, which can present a challenge, especially if you have a deep tank that houses light-sensitive fish or other creatures. However, you’ll need to ensure that the plants receive adequate light if they’re to remain healthy and thrive. Many aquatic plants that are popular with hobbyists are very easy to keep and grow. More challenging plant species need more red and blue light to thrive. So, to summarize, aquarium lights produce a bright white through to blue light that’s designed to show off your fishes’ colors, as well as provide adequate lighting for easy to care for aquatic plants. Plant lights generally have a lot of reds and blues, which are most effective for the process of photosynthesis. The spectral output defines lights that are designed for growing terrestrial plants. Grow lights and lights specifically designed for use in tanks containing aquatic plants are generally given a Kelvin rating of between 4,700k to around 6,700k and emit a pinkish-white light, which is the optimum range for photosynthesis and pretty much equates to natural daylight.Īquarium lights for reef and marine tanks are generally more toward the 8,000k range and above, producing a bright white through to blue spectrum. Basically, the higher the Kelvin rating (k) of a light bulb, the whiter the light produced by that bulb will be. In plain English, Kelvin is used in lighting to measure the color temperature of a light bulb. “ … the SI base unit of thermodynamic temperature, equal in magnitude to the degree Celsius.” The primary difference between aquarium and grow lights is in the Kelvin rating. Aquarium lights usually have more green and less red and blue, which gives the light they produce a more appealing look, although it’s not ideal for plants, which need more red and blue light for healthy growth. The difference between a plant grow light for growing terrestrial plants, and an aquarium light is generally the unit’s spectral output. What’s the difference between a grow light and an aquarium light?

Aquarium black light