Skip to main content

Aquarium Led Light


Lights on an Aquarium has more than aesthetics. Most commonly people mistake while choosing the right lights for the aquarium.

There are couple of questions you need to address before picking up the right make and model of lights for your Aquarium. Do not go by the advice of the local fish store – Always.. I repeat. The reason why I say so is because the local fish store might not have the stock of all the makes and models, all the time. This is specific to Indian market.
Whats the requirement
  • Is your tank a Tropical set up? No Live plants. Only Fish and some plastic / Resin decoration?
  • Is your tank live planted tank?
  • Is it a Reef tank?
  • Do you want a expensive brand with a high tech gadget type?
With so many options available in the market today, it’s obvious that you may get confused. And at the same time, there is no single light which fits for all Tanks.
We can categorise the tanks in three major type
  • Fish Only Tank : We call it as Tropical set up. Here its a minimalistic tank. Only fish and a few decorative stuff. You need only a basic light for this kind of set up. Though there is no restriction on using high tech lights. But these kind of fish tanks will work well with even basic lights
  • Planted tank: This is a bit more complex set up, here you will need to replicate the natural eco system in a small tank and hence the light plays major role. For live plants to grow, light is necessary. Like plants above the ground require light for photosynthesise, Under water plants also require lights and CO2. And these needs to be supplied from an artificial source. We will talk about CO2 in a different topic later. Lets stick to Lights now. We recommend Actinic white lights for such set up with 7000 – 8000Kelvin out put. Please do note the lights should be on only for maximum of 7 – 8 hours so that the plants get a real feel of sunlight. Should you keep the lights on for longer period of time, there are fair chances of unwanted green algae to grow in your light. Controlling algae growth with medication is a tricky practise because the medication may harm your fish / Shrimps and snails in the tank. Today in the market the availability of lights which can replicate sun rise to sun set is very common. In fact its evolved to the extend that lights can be controlled from a mobile app. Maxspect has pioneered in such light system and is available with http://www.easypets.in
  • Reef Tank: This is even more complex tank set up. Here the light requirement is intense. A combination of right intensity and wavelength is required here and we recommend full spectrum lights for such set up.
T5 : These are the most conventional lighting system. A combination of White and different color and spectrum lights are available. In India a lot of people make there DIY set up using a combination of Bulbs and Ballasts. With only a 5/8" diameter, thin T-5 HO Fluorescent bulbs produce almost twice the brightness of standard fluorescents. In addition to their brightness, you can also fit more of these slim bulbs into the same amount of space. Ocean free or Aquazonic and Sunsun are pioneers in making T5 Lights.
LED : With the advent of technology, LED lights have now captured the market because of their fancy looks and lower power consumption and better results. But again, with so many options available today, we recommend that customers should always look at the PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) value of the LED before buying. But if you buy LED from any expert Aquatic hobby store or brand, you can just ignore that. LED lights are these days made with so much sophistication that remote control, Controlling using mobile app, Adjustment of timers, Adjustment of light spectrum etc are very much possible. Maxspect and Sunsun LED lights are very popular in Indian Market
While choosing a light, ensure you always evaluate the Initial cost and operating cost of these. Correct light can only give best results.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fish Pond Air Compressor

Everything about Pond Aeration Everyone knows that pond with fish needs good amount of Oxygen. Life without oxygen is impossible and a pond with less amount of Oxygen can hold only less number of fish. To support large amount of fish in a captive pond, you need to provide external Air (which will contain Oxygen). Pond with fish will generate a huge amount of toxic air from the waste and decomposed material at the bottom and hence the bottom of the pond will always lack Oxygen. A lot of people use spray bars or fountains to re-circulate water thru fresh air by means if which Oxygen is added to the water. This was harmful gases will be released to the atmosphere and Oxygen gets added because the surface area of water getting in contact on the moving water will increase. Its always advisable to leave the surface (top) of the pond free from Water lilies and lotus plants because these plants cover the top, the maximum area will not have access to fresh air. Otherwise you need to have H
1 comment
Read more

Aquarium Chiller

Fish and invertebrates  are cold blooded and hence you must be aware that their body temperature is controlled by the temperature of the habitat they live in. Water temperature in fish tank or Aquarium hence is a very important factor. Sudden fall or rise of even 5 degree temperature will become fatal for the fish. Hence its recommended to keep the water temperature stable. The fish requires optimal temperature range and not extreme. In India, certain regions are prone to extreme climate. The variance between day time temperature and night temperature varies from 5 degrees to 25 degrees. These can cause same change in water in a pond or fish tank. In such conditions we recommend use of heaters and chillers / aquarium fans. Continues cycles of temperature variance in water can cause stress to the fish and stress can cause various disease because during high stress the immune system doesn’t work properly. More over increase in water temperature also decreases the Oxygen le
Post a Comment
Read more

Fish Net

This article is not for medium and expert level aquarists . But may be beneficial for entry level hobbyists. There are some basics to start a new aquarium. And a lot of people are ignorant towards and get into trouble or find difficulty after they start off.This is a basic requirement of fish keeping. Irrespective of what ever level of expertise you have, fish net is a must. Fish is very sensitive in nature. Handling without care will not only physically harm them, but also physiologically. A scared fish can move around very fast and can hit the equipments and wall of the tank and harm themselves. More over a stressed fish will have shorter live.  Fish nets are available in different sizes and hence choose the right size of the net based on the size of the fish and the tank.  Fish net will come handy while cleaning the tank or changing tanks or during transport.
2 comments
Read more