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Aquarium plants need a lot of light for normal growth and development. The fish do not need it so much, but with sufficient illumination they look very attractive, bright, and behave actively. That is why it is so important to choose the right lighting for the aquarium. This is not as easy as it seems at first glance, as there are many details that you need to know.
Where to place the backlight for the aquarium
Most often, the backlight in the aquarium is located on top. The most common option is in the lid. Both long and ordinary lamps can be installed here. To achieve more uniform illumination, reflectors are installed near the lamps, which redirect and scatter the light. This is especially important if one long lamp is used. If it is simply fixed on the lid, most of the bottom remains in the shade, which is not always good.
But not always a close location near the water is good. If lamps are used that emit a large amount of heat, you have to install coolers (fans) or raise them above the aquarium. In this case, you can use suspensions and stops. Here who will adapt as – there are different options.
The upper light does not always reach the bottom in the right amount. Then you can either increase the power of the lamps, or place several on the walls, closer to the bottom or at the very bottom. The latter option is more decorative, but can somewhat improve the low light in the lower layers.
The “top” lighting for the aquarium is more correct, but to correct the situation and the impossibility of a quick alteration, you can also use the light sources located below, or you can install spotlights for a decorative effect – to emphasize some part of the relief or an unusual plant at dusk.
Lamp types
Aquarium lighting can be done with any type of lamp. Generally anyone. But its effectiveness, the appearance of plants and fish, the amount of energy spent will be very different. Let’s evaluate all types of lamps from these positions.
Incandescent and halogen lamps
They are combined into one category, as they have similar advantages and disadvantages. Incandescent lamps are good for aquariums in that they emit light whose spectrum is very similar to sunlight. The second big plus is the affordable price. But the disadvantages are very serious. This is a low efficiency – about 97% of the energy is spent on heat generation and only 3% directly on the emission of light waves.
The bills for such aquarium lighting will be decent. In addition, it is necessary to remove the heat that incandescent lamps emit during operation. This is usually done by installing coolers – low-power fans, but they also do not always save.
Metal halide
This type of lamp is ideal for aquariums with a lot of grass and if the water column is more than 60 cm. This is due to the wide spectrum of light emitted, its high brightness and its ability to penetrate to great depths. When illuminated with metal-halogen lamps (MHL), there will be “solar” glare at the bottom, shadows from plants, fish.
The disadvantage is that during operation they get very hot, so basically such lamps are installed at a distance of at least 30 cm from the water surface.
Fluorescent lamps
Today, these lamps are available in several versions. There are ordinary household (NO). They have a low level of luminescence, they can be used to illuminate shallow aquariums – up to 50 cm deep. Below the light simply does not reach. There are two other technologies HO (High Output) and VHO (Very High Output), which, with the same dimensions, shine many times brighter. Here their light is able to penetrate to a fairly large depth.
Two types of fluorescent lamps are commonly used in the aquarium trade – T5 and T8. T8 is more commonly used. They have the best value for money. T5 lamps with a smaller diameter (16 mm versus 26 mm) give twice as much light, but also cost twice as much as T8. And since it’s all the same to change them at the same time, they use the GXNUMX more often.
One more thing: these two types of lamps are not interchangeable: T5 requires a special ballast, so the lamps for them are different.
The disadvantage of fluorescent lamps is that over time they “burn out”, that is, they change the spectrum of the glow. This forces a replacement every 6-10 months, although the lamp is still working and can last for many more months. But the plants already “do not like” its light. And this is an additional cost and quite tangible.
Compact fluorescent lamps or housekeepers
According to their characteristics, they are very similar to conventional fluorescent ones, only the shape of the light tube has been changed – they are twisted into a spiral – and the cartridge – it is for standard connectors.
LED Light
To date, lighting for an aquarium using LEDs is recognized by many as optimal. They heat up a little, with low electricity consumption they shine brightly, have a wide color range, and are distinguished by a long service life. In addition, they are safe, as they work from 12 V.
Another plus of using LEDs is that their brightness can be easily changed. In the absence of experience, it is almost impossible to immediately select the optimal amount of light, so the ability to adjust the amount of light is very useful.
The disadvantage of LEDs is the considerable price for good quality crystals. The second unpleasant moment is that they also emit heat, which must be removed. But heat is generated by the LED housing and it is easier to remove it – install it on an aluminum plate, which will take heat away. If necessary, you can build a cooler from the back or lift it higher above the water.
If we talk in relation to the aquarium hobby, then by organizing the right LED lighting for the aquarium, you can achieve a play of highlights and shadows on the bottom, an excellent view of plants and fish.
A few words about what LED lamps are:
- Separate LEDs of different power. Usually on sale there are 1 W and 3 W. Brighter, of course, three watt ones, they are usually used, since they are more economical.
- LED strips. It is difficult to find an LED strip with sufficient power to be used for aquarium lighting. They exist, but they are expensive. But installation is many times easier than with single light sources.
- In the form of an ordinary lamp – a pear-shaped plastic cover with a standard base. There is a subspecies – “corn”. Several LEDs are assembled into a single lamp. They are convenient in that they can be installed in ordinary 220 V lamps, since the voltage converter is located in the cartridge. The light is bright, only the back of the bulb is heated, and many times less than that of the “Ilyich’s bulb”.
This type is called “corn” - Long tubular. These fixtures are very similar to those that use conventional fluorescent lamps, but they are smaller, as the light sources themselves are smaller in diameter.
For all these reasons, LED aquarium lighting is becoming more and more popular. At low costs at the stage of operation, they give good light, “burn out” much more slowly. Moreover, it is possible to make the backlight “color” using RCD diodes. By the way, they allow you to adjust the amount of one or another “shade” of light.
Combined aquarium lighting
When creating lighting for an aquarium, many experienced owners combine several types of lamps – two or even three. This way you can achieve optimal illumination at minimal cost. Most often, fluorescent and LED lamps are combined, fluorescent with metal halide, all three types are used.
It just seems like there aren’t many options. In fact, there are a lot, since light sources are also selected according to the temperature of the light. As a result, the visual perception and colors of vegetation and fish change significantly. When selecting, it is desirable to obtain a spectrum close to the spectrum of sunlight or choose a combination that all the inhabitants of the aquarium like.
Light intensity
In order to choose the right lighting for an aquarium, many factors must be taken into account: its type (marine or freshwater), the presence of plants in it and their needs (how much light they need), the geometric parameters of the jar itself (the height of the water column) and the color of the water. Depending on all these factors, lamps and fixtures are selected.
Selection by volume
A common practice is to choose the brightness of the fixtures for the aquarium based on its volume. The technique does not take into account a lot of nuances, but can be used as a basis – for an approximate determination of the required lamp power. The required power of the lamps is considered depending on the volume of water (not the reservoir, but the water – subtract the air gap and the thickness of the soil).
- For an aquarium without plants, light is not needed so much – fish do not need much. Count at 0,1-0,3 W / l.
- If the aquarium contains shade-loving algae and fish, the lighting power can be calculated based on the norm of 0,2-0,4 W / l.
- Average illumination – 0,4-0,5 W / l. But with this choice, the plants will grow slowly, they will stretch upwards.
- The optimal illumination for a normal herbalist, for bright and healthy plants is 0,5-0,8 W / l.
- Bright lighting with a large number of photophilous plants – 0,8-1,0 W / l.
The data are given for lighting with incandescent lamps and halogen lamps. But they are used less and less today, as they are ineffective and get very hot. You can determine the required power of other light sources from the correspondence table.
After calculating how much fluorescent lamp power you need, you can calculate the required power of other types of light sources.
Depth Selection
When determining the intensity of aquarium lighting, its depth must be taken into account. The thing is that when passing 10 cm of water of medium transparency, the illumination drops by 50%.
This means that if the illumination on the surface is 1000 lm, at a depth of 60 cm it will reach only about 15 lm, and below it will be practically dark. If you want to have healthy plants, you need to have at least 60-90 lm at the bottom of the light. Therefore, when calculating the intensity of lighting for an aquarium, its depth should also be taken into account.
Aquarium lighting time
When designing lighting, the question arises: how long should aquarium lighting last. The answer is based on the “habits” of plants and fish. They come from tropical latitudes, and there daylight hours last about 12 hours, regardless of the time of year. This is the lighting regime that you need to provide your plants with.
Sometimes they try to compensate for the lack of illumination by extending daylight hours. This usually does not have positive consequences, but negative ones appear very often – with a long daylight hours, the water begins to bloom, the illumination still decreases, and it becomes necessary to replace the water.
In addition to the fact that the light in the aquarium should be on for a certain time, it is also desirable to create some kind of half a day – some time – 3-4 hours a day – the lighting should be very bright, the rest of the time the aquarium lighting intensity can be reduced. To implement this mode, several lamps are used, which are turned on through separate toggle switches / switches.
In order to automate the process, you can install a timer. Today there are absolutely inexpensive models through which you can turn on the lamps. They are mechanical and electronic. Electronic ones can be programmable and you do not have to set the time each time, as the power will be turned on and off automatically.