Lighting also provides energy and oxygen to ensure the overall well-being of your pets, as well as growth for photosynthetic plants and organisms. Light is essential for the healthy growth for fish, plants, corals and bacteria How is lighting measured?
Wattage — the amount of energy used Kelvin — the color of the lighting low is a warm color, high is a cool color Lumens — its brightness as perceived by the human eye for general illumination PAR Photosynthetically Active Radiation — the light that is useful to grow plants and beneficial algae. Unlike plants, fish do not have a biological need for light, so they require less. Natural sunlight at noon has a rating of Kelvin.
To provide animals and plants the lighting they need, 10 to 12 hours a day is sufficient. Rather, it is the length of time you have your aquarium lights on. In general, 8 to 12 hours of light per day is recommended for your aquarium.
However, this is just a general guideline and can alter dependent on different factors. This is the million dollar question, and the answer will vary dependent on the type of aquarium you are keeping. Important factors you will need to take into account are:. Aquatic plants, just like any other plants, thrive best in properly lit conditions. A scientific process is known as photosynthesis.
In turn, they then provide oxygen for your aquarium and clean up harmful waste. Since light is a prerequisite to plant growth, it makes sense that it is advisable to provide as much light as possible to them. When it comes to your aquarium, you can do that by switching on your lights as the natural daylight fades. Lights can be left on as long as you wish though you will need to take into account the needs of particular fish species. Useful Tip: When adding new plants to your aquarium additional light time will help them root better and encourage vigorous growth.
Believe it or not, fish, in general, do not really care about, nor benefit from supplemental lighting in their aquariums. This is mainly because being kept in an aquarium with four glass sides gives them more access to light than their natural environment would. To put it simply, with regards to fish, additional lighting is really all about what we like.
There are, however, exceptions to this, such as Cichlids , Tetras , and Elephant Nose fish who prefer dimmer light and have been known to be adversely affected by bright light. It, therefore, is advisable to do some research on the fish species in your aquarium to see if they have any special lighting requirements. For those fish who do not have special lighting needs the general rule of thumb for lighting would be 8 to 12 hours per day.
Most of this, especially in the summer months, will come from natural lighting, but in winter you will need to turn your lighting on more. Useful Tip: Do not leave aquarium lighting on overnight. Fish do need to rest and sleep and the majority, like us, do this in the dark. They are easy to set up, reliable and inexpensive to purchase. The amount of ambient lighting your aquarium receives, as covered briefly above, will have a huge effect on how long you will need your supplemental lighting on.
For example, a bright sunny room will need less additional light than a dimly lit one, as will a room that is commonly artificially lit. Breeding females, sick or stressed fish also seem to like a lesser light during the day, perhaps to get the much-needed rest. One way to ensure all your fish enjoy their preferred light levels during the day is adding hiding places in the tank using plants, driftwood, and other decorations. Tropical aquarium fish do not need sunlight per se. However, placing your fish tank in an area with daylight exposure will help save on your lighting bill during the day.
Moreover, if you have plants in your aquarium, they will benefit from sunlight, which is more natural than any aquarium light fixture. If you decide to allow sunlight in your fish tank during the day, keep in mind the duration should not be too long more than 10 hours because it will promote algae growth. While light in fish tanks is partly for your viewing pleasure, plants depend on diurnal light patterns a lot, and good quality light is paramount.
See how to choose planted aquarium lights. However, the light used in your aquarium and the duration the light stay on will depend on the plants you have. Some plants will thrive in low lights while others need high light for longer. Low light plants like Java moss , Java fern , and Anubias species will be fine with 8 to 10 hours of low-intensity light a day and the plants are perfect for beginners.
On the other hand, light hungry species prefer longer light hours, somewhere in the region of 12 hours a day , CO2 addition and fertilizer dosing. That said, I also recommend you match your aquatic plants to the type of fish you have in your tank; tropical plants with tropical fish.
Ideally, keep platies, guppies, betta and cory catfish in aquariums planted with Java fern, Java moss anubias, hornwort , and Cryptocoryne. Goldfish , minnows, ricefish, and Zebra danios come from temperate zones where daylight hours fluctuate, and are best paired with Anubias species and tiger lotus.
The most prominent con of keeping your lights on for long is algae. Usually, if you let the lights in your aquarium to run for more than 12 hours a day, blue-green algae will establish exponentially. Thus, when you have your tank in a brightly-illuminated room, placing it too close to the window is not recommended. That said, algae will probably grow in your aquarium anyway, whether too much light or not, so what is important is to keep the extent in check.
In case of algae thriving in your tank even in fairly low light, consider adding algae eaters siamese algae eaters, shrimp like ghost and Amano, Amano shrimp , and snails mystery, nerite. Proper aquarium lighting is essential to fish and plants, but so is the period of darkness for them to rest and replenish. Keep your aquarium light on for the recommended 8 to 12 hours then turn off the light to mimic the natural day and night cycle.
In case your fish gets restless when the lights go out, turn off the room overhead light an hour before your tank lights.
This should give the fish eyes an hour to adjust to the lower light setting before complete darkness. As I stated in the paragraph above, most tropical aquarium fish only need a maximum of 12 hours of light a day, followed by a period of darkness. Preferably, this should follow the daily light cycle.
As such, most of your fishes may probably not need light at night unless they are nocturnal bottom-dwelling fish or inverts like snails that prefer to feed at night. For purposes of your aquarium aesthetics, you can use moonlight aquarium bulbs to illuminate your tank at night.
The calm lighting will accentuate your aquarium but still allow your finny friends to get some sleep. Most people will remember to feed their fish when leaving for vacation but fewer remember to schedule their aquarium lights for when they are away. While some aquarists are not even sure whether to leave the lights on or off while they have a good time away from home.
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