Aquarium Lighting

Aquarium Lighting differs from ordinary light bulbs, Aquarium bulbs do not promote algae blooms in your fish tank that standard bulbs will. Tropical & Saltwater fish hobbyists are finding that our Aquarium Light bulbs are the lowest price and backed by an iron-clad guarantee. Standard lamps lack the spectral range needed for aquarium health and visual tank enhancement. Aquarium light bulbs come in a range of types, Kelvins and wattages depending on what type of aquatic life & fish you have and the depth of your fish tank. We recommend Metal Halide Aquarium bulbs for corals and most saltwater fish tanks.

Why is the right Marine Lighting so important?

The reef lighting system in your aquarium is what gives photosynthetic organisms in your aquarium the spectrum they need to survive and thrive. Corals have an alga called zooxanthellae in their tissues. Sugar is produced when your aquarium fish light emits the light spectrum the zooxanthellae alga requires to photosynthesize. The sugar feeds the entire coral to help it grow and thrive. However, the right aquarium light (spectrum) intensity is required to achieve this result.

Your reef lighting lamps will fade in spectrum and intensity over time and the change is so subtle it will not to be noticed by the human eye. The organisms that require the light provided by the saltwater lighting to survive, will be affected by such changes. It is necessary to replace your aquarium lighting regularly so as to reduce the shock to the photosynthetic organisms in your aquarium.

How often should you change your reef lighting? Marine Lighting manufacturers have recommendations for the life span of the aquarium light bulbs they manufacture. T5 Aquarium lighting utilizes either normal output and Very High Output (VHO) aquarium fluorescent light bulbs. This type of fish tank lighting needs to be changed every 6 to 12 months. If you are using Metal Halide aquarium lighting, the aquarium metal halide lamps should be replaced between 9 to 12 months. Aquarium LED light can last up to 5 years or 50000 hours.

There are however some variables to consider when trying to determine the exact time frame to use for the replacement of your aquarium light bulbs in your fish tank light.

The first thing you need to consider at is the length of time the your aquarium lamp is operated in your reef lighting. If you are operating your saltwater aquarium lighting eight hours a day compared to twelve hours a day, there will be a significant difference in the total time your have to replace your aquarium lamps.

Another point to consider is the type of aquarium ballast used in your aquarium fish light. Some types of ballasts have the capacity to boost the performance of aquarium lights to achieve a higher PAR (Photosynthetic Active Radiation). As desirable as this may be, it can shorten the life of the aquarium light bulb. However a simple trick like using a fan to blow air over the aquarium lamp to keep it cooler and this will increase their lifespan.

When using single-ended metal halide saltwater aquarium lighting, the aquarium metal halide light bulbs orientation is very important. In aquarium metal lighting there is a nipple within the arc tube of the aquarium MH aquarium light bulb should be pointed upward when it is screwed horizontally into the socket of the fish tank light. If the orientation is any other way, the life of the bulb will be shortened and the color output may also be affected in the aquarium light.

Aquarium LED lights are used most commonly for an aquarium night light, they are not used for photosynthesis so do not require replacement until they’ve actually burned out. The technology for Aquarium LED lighting has advanced considerably. However, the price range is out of most aquarium hobbyist’s budgets. We do expect the prices to come down considerably over the next few years.

When using supplemental lighting in your aquatic lighting, such as actinic light bulbs to supplement the aquarium metal halide lamps, the T5 aquarium lights do not need to be changed as frequently. This is because the corals will get most of the light that is of benefit to them from the metal halide reef light.

There are other variables to consider when to change your fish tank light. When reef lighting loses it’s intensity with time, the corals in your tank will adjust themselves to this lower intensity especially if you’ve put off changing your aquarium lamps as recommended. You should always give your corals some time to adjust to the higher intensity of your new aquarium lamp; and here are some tips on how you may achieve this.

You may decide to shorten the period of light the corals are exposed to from your fish light system. This is not the best option but it allows the coral to adapt to the new high intensity light without shock. You can then gradually increase the exposure of the aquarium lighting back to normal. Using a light timer is an easy way to regulate the time your fish and coral are exposed to the new aquarium bulbs.

You can also change a few aquarium bulbs at a time. For instance, if your marine lighting system has four bulbs, (two T5 actinic fluorescent bulbs and two blue super actinic HO bulbs), you may change one white and one blue in the beginning month and then change the other two the next month. This method however works better with a fluorescent aquarium light rather than with metal halide aquarium lighting.

Because as light in your fish tank light travels through air it decreases in intensity, you may opt to raise your aquarium light (if you can) by about 12 inches. You can then slowly lower the reef lighting over the course of one month, it will allow your corals to acclimatize to the higher intensity of your aquarium lamps.

The preferred method amongst a lot of aquarists is the use of fiberglass screens with their aquarium lighting. If you block off some of the light by placing 3 to 4 screens under the fixture over the top of the tank, you can then remove a layer a week over a month to enable your corals adjust to the new light. These screens are readily available in most hardware stores at very affordable rates.

It is useful to record the date at which you replaced your aquarium light bulbs so as to easily determine when they need to be replaced. Some aquarium lamps have writable parts on them on which you can write down the date of installation, like the plastic base of PC bulbs and the metal rim of aquarium T5 light bulbs.. Take advantage of this to ensure adequate light for your corals at all times.

Old fish tank bulbs should ALWAYS be recycled when they are remove from your aquarium light. Aquarium T5 bulbs contain 5 to 7 times the mercury of a Metal Halide aquarium lamps, and if they go into your trash, they will end up in landfills and eventually into ground water where they will cause serious problems. Some manufacturers work together with local fish clubs to collect used metal halide bulbs for recycling, and most cities have recycling centers that will take your used fluorescent bulbs.

The aquarium hobbyist who is wary of manufacturer recommendations may take advantage of two readily affordable tools to check out the validity of the recommendations. These are the LUX meter (the cheaper option) and then the PAR meter. The LUX meter will only measure the intensity of available light, while the PAR meter actually measures the light that is available for photosynthesis.

It should be noted that if you are changing the Kelvin rating of your saltwater lighting system, your coral needs to be acclimatized to the new light intensity available as, most especially if you are going from a higher to a lower Kelvin rated bulb.

In your marine aquarium lighting you need to make an effort to determine when the aquarium light bulbs need to be changed. It will be necessary for the health of all the photosynthetic organisms in your aquarium. The extra step will ensure your corals bathe in the best possible aquatic lighting.