Aquarium Lights

Aquarium lights are an important part of your salt water fish aquarium. Most fish hobbyists start out with a fish tank, filter, and lighting. There is basic lighting required for fish only tanks. Plastic aquarium hoods with fluorescent tube lighting already installed and are available for any size tank. These hoods contain one or two fluorescent tubes and are reasonably priced. They are also simple to use. Just place the hood on top of your tank and plug it in. This type of aquarium lighting is generally used for goldfish and fresh water guppies. Inquire at your local fish shop as to the benefits of fluorescent lighting for your selection of fish. Changing to another type of lighting may have more benefits for your fish.

A hood which accommodates two tubes may be a better choice for your fish tank. In the future you may just want to add some soft corals or live rock. With two tubes, you can easily change one fluorescent tube and replace it with the required aquarium lights needed for coral and live rock. An actinic or Kelvin NO (Normal Output) tube will allow for some types of corals and sea mats to survive. This is a nice option for the beginning fish hobbyist. Many fish shop experts will tell you that fluorescent tubes are the most practical and cost effective type of aquarium lights. Fluorescent tubes last for months and also burn mush cooler.

When concerning wattage for your aquarium lights, you can take the general rule which calls for 3 to 5 watts for each gallon of water. If you have the standard 55 gallon tank, this means your lighting system should have 165 to 275 watts of lighting. The length of fluorescent tubes can make a difference in the wattage. The longer the tube means the higher the wattage. Also be aware that VHO (Very High Output) tubes gives off much more wattage than NO (Normal Output) tubes even though they can be the same length. This information can help when selecting the wattage needs of your tank. Instead of adding four NO tubes, two VHO tube may take its place.