About Aquarium Lighting

The most important item for an aquarium is the lighting. Too bright or too dim of aquarium lighting will cause stress, poor health, sluggishness, and discoloration for your fish. You will have to learn about the different light types for fresh and salt water fish in order to give them a comfortable environment.

Use of Aquarium Lighting

The lighting in an aquarium should give the fish a sense of their natural habitat. Most fish need at least 12 hours of light daily to keep them healthy and active. They need the lighting to be steady without going dimmer or brighter, which will confuse their sleep patterns. Not only will it mess with the fish’s sleep cycle, it will also make them forget their feeding or breeding routine. Dim lighting is especially harmful to most fresh water fish and will fade away their colors as well as adding a higher risk of illness and untimely death.

Actinic Type Lighting

Actinic lighting should be placed above small coral reefs and plants in the aquarium. Its low light is UV powered, so it won’t harm any of the fishes that come in contact with it. This soft light source will also make deep water fish feel at home without any uneasiness. Most actinic lighting sets will also come with traditional aquarium bulbs. If you have a mixed aquarium, you can keep one side with low intensity lighting while brightening up the other half for the fish that need its energy.

Lunar Lighting

LED lunar lighting is the perfect choice for fish breeders. The white glow of the LED light looks like that of a full moon. This will make the fish think it’s a night cycle, which will promote breeding and spawning. This type of lighting should only be used sparingly in the month since fish still need a higher intensity of lighting to live naturally. There are some types of these lights that will glow brighter on their own so you won’t have to change them in and out.