Best Aquarium LED Lighting

Lighting / By

best-aquarium-led-lighting

It’s probably not the first thing we think about when equipping our aquarium, but lighting is very important. In addition to your filter and heating system (see our dedicated page), take the time to select a lighting system that is consistent with your plans. We will start by presenting you the different solutions before talking about the best lighting for aquariums.

What are the different lighting systems?

Lighting systems can be found in several forms. Indeed, they can be fixed to the lid of your tank or can be in the form of a ramp fixed to the ends of your aquarium. As far as lighting systems are concerned, there are two main technologies: LED and neon.

 

Best aquarium lighting – what to consider

 

Choosing the power of your aquarium lighting

We often make the choice of lighting on a functional level. However, these few tips will help you invest in good lighting.

Until the advent of LED lamps, the ratio of watts to liters of water was used to determine the power required. In other words, the light needed was determined by the number of watts per liter of water (w / L). This data was mainly used for T8 tubes.

 

Watts indicate the electrical consumption of a lamp. To determine the necessary light or its luminous efficiency, we speak more of luminous intensity or luminous flux expressed in Lumens (lm).

For a good dimensioning, it is important that the intensity of the lighting is adapted to the plantation in the tank.

 

However, you must be careful when there is an excess of light for your plants because it will result in an explosion of algae and on the other hand when the lighting is too low you risk a dieback of them.

In addition, you should know that fish do not necessarily have the same need for light as plants.

In order to be able to advise you in the best possible way, you will find below a table of correspondence for the choice of your lighting.

 

Choosing the type of lighting for your aquarium

Once you have determined the type of power you want, it is time to choose the type of lighting.

There are 5 types of lighting: fluorescent tubes, LEDs, HQI lamps, compact fluorescent lamps and natural light.

Each of these types has different characteristics such as luminous efficiency, cost of purchase, power consumption, life span and finally depending on the type of aquarium to be equipped.

 

Led lighting

LEDs, which are increasingly present in our homes, are also increasingly popular in aquariums. We find them as much in the form of ramps as in the form of led tubes that allow them to be installed in a gallery. This technology allows us to have a white or colored light and to have a large choice of power without taking more space.

 

To know if your lighting is powerful or not, we use the lumens per liter. With less than 20 l/L, you have a weak light. Between 20 and 40 l/L, a medium light and above that a strong light.

 

For what concerns the consumption and the ecological aspect, the Led technology is the best choice because for an identical consumption to neons, you benefit from a power twice as important. They also have an excellent lifespan of up to 50,000 hours.

 

Neon lights

The neon lights were the system used before the arrival of LEDs and are still very present. There are two types: T5 and T8. The T5 are the most powerful and the thinnest with 16 mm diameter. The T8 are a less good choice because they are thicker with 26 mm diameter and have a bad ratio consumption / performance.

 

When buying a neon, you must take into account many criteria which are: the size, the lumens, the color rendering index (CRI), the color spectrum and the color temperature. This temperature must be between 2500°K and 8000°K for fresh water and more than 10000°K for sea water.

 

Regarding consumption, neon lights are not a match for LEDs because they consume a lot of energy. Moreover, their life span is much less high and rarely exceeds 1 year and a half.

 

HQL and HQI lamps

High pressure mercury lamps (HQL) and metal halide lamps (HQI) can still be found in the trade. However, these lamps require an open aquarium and are often used in marine aquaria.

 

The purchase cost is quite high, they are not very easy to handle due to their weight and not really practical to install. Their electrical consumption is high, so these 2 types of lighting have almost disappeared today.

 

Compact fluorescent bulbs

They are mainly intended for small aquariums and nano aquariums and are placed on the edge of the tank. They allow a lighting adapted to the aquariums of small volume

With the appearance of LED, these types of lamps are less and less used because it is not possible to interchange the bulbs from one lamp to another on different models.

 

Natural light

One could just say that natural light would be enough and moreover it costs nothing. But this is not enough if you want to have a good growth for your aquatic plants.

 

Moreover, the sun’s rays favor :

  • the development of algae mainly on the walls of the aquarium
  • a warming of the water which facilitates the appearance of algae
  • possible bacteria such as cyanobacteria (blue algae).

If I had to advise you on the different types of lighting mentioned, I would suggest LED lighting. To date, they are without any doubt the most interesting thanks to their low consumption and their quality rendering for fish and plants.

 

Best aquarium LED lighting our top 2 picks

 

Finnex Planted+ 24/7 LED KLC Aquarium LED Light

finnex-planted-plus-led-klc-light

Whether your plants are medium or deep-planted, red leaf or carpet species, this LED grow light has been designed to dramatically increase their capacity for photosynthesis. Using this lighting device on a planted tank up to 125 gallons is effective. While this implies strong, quick growth, the device is best utilised on a tank that is at least 12 inches deep; otherwise, the powerful spectrum will promote the growth of algae.

 

The lights have a convenient remote control and a tonne of adjustable options. Different weather effects can be produced, and a 24/7 mode simulates a 24-hour illumination cycle. This means that you may mimic the external circumstances that the plants would encounter in their natural habitat.

You have complete control over the spectrum, allowing you to set the intensity of illumination in your aquarium.

Both newcomers and seasoned aquarists can consider purchasing this LED lighting fixture.

 

Pros

  • Excellent depth penetration up to 21 inches
  • Excellent value for money
  • Customizable
  • 24/7 mode enables easy aquatic plant care
  • Brackets will fit rimless and brace-style tanks

 

Cons

  • Power cord could be longer
  • Encourages algae to grow in shallow tanks

 

NICREW SkyLED Aquarium Light

nicrew-skyled-aquarium-led

The NICREW SkyLED Aquarium Light is exceptionally well-designed and energy-efficient. If you want an affordable, high-quality introductory LED lighting solution that will illuminate most aquatic plant species for novices, this LED unit is the best alternative for you.

 

The unit enables you to cultivate a variety of medium to low-light plants in a 20-gallon long planted tank thanks to its highly effective PAS and PUR. Another benefit of the spectrum is that it really brings out the colours in your fish.

The unit’s extended brackets allow for a safe and snug fit even on aquariums that aren’t typical. The blue moonlight effect glow-lights for night-time simulation and bright white LEDs that are equivalent to 6500K LED illumination are great for nocturnal fish species that are otherwise hidden during the day.

 

Pros

  • Flexible aquarium sizes
  • Suitable for low-light aquatic plants
  • Ideal spectrum for colorful fish
  • Excellent PAR water penetration for the price
  • Night-time mode

Cons

  • Unit is not waterproof, so must be installed over a glass cover slide
  • Extendable brackets can cause shadowed corners
  • Brackets are loose, so unit must be installed over a glass cover slide

 

How much light is needed for an aquarium?

As with all living things, the day/night cycle is essential. The same is true for all the creatures that make up your aquarium, from the fish to the plant.

It is therefore important to take this into account in order to offer the best living conditions to your ecosystem.

 

A light period that is too short or too long can cause many problems such as the proliferation of algae in the aquarium and an imbalance in your biotope.

To control the lighting time, you can use small programmers that will allow you to adjust the lighting time. The ideal is to have a lighting time of 8 to 12 hours all year round and preferably at the same time.

For the lighting period, prefer to start in the early afternoon, it is not especially necessary to light in the morning.

If you have just acquired your first aquarium, start with a lighting period of about 6 hours to allow your plants to grow slowly and limit algae.

Once the nitrogen cycle is completed after one month and after the introduction of fish, you can start with a lighting time of 8 to 12 hours.

 

Good to know for your education

A light is characterized by a spectrum of colors and delivers different lights depending on the dominant hue, each color is characterized by a certain temperature measured in degrees Kelvin.

 

As a comparison, the temperature of the sun turns around 6000 K to 7000 K, a pure white light turns around 10000K and for a pink light we turn around 5000K.

In aquaria, the temperature range should be around 4,000 Kelvin, which represents a rather warm white. It is preferable to choose pink tubes because they emit blue and red rays, very useful for photosynthesis.

Avoid using commercially available tubes as they are not suitable for aquarium use.

 

How do you characterize the spectrum and color temperature of light in aquaria?

The spectrum of a light is the image obtained by decomposing the light through a prism (natural visible example of the rainbow). In a simple way, it is the set of wavelengths of visible light (excluding infrared and ultraviolet).

Manufacturers of aquarium lighting systems modify these spectrums to adapt them to the needs of plants, corals or fish.

These modifications will also play on the color of the light called temperature, expressed in kelvin (K). The temperature range starts from 4 000 K (warm white), rather adapted to the photosynthesis of aquatic plants (emission in the red), to 14 000 K (cold white), used to enhance the colors or in seawater aquarium (emission in the blue).

 

CRI – color rendering index

It is a data indicating the position of the spectrum emitted in relation to that of the sun at its zenith. The closer the index of the tube is to 100, the closer the visual rendering is to the sunlight.

The CRI (Colour Rendering Index) indicates the ability of a light to render colors as faithfully as possible, with the minimum loss for the human eye. 

In aquaristics, the CRI will be important to restore the intensity of the colors of your fish and for that you will have to choose tubes whose CRI is higher than 80

 

Lumen/Watt

It is a technical data indicating the ratio between the luminous flux emitted (lumen) and the power consumed (Watt).

The lumen is the unit used to measure the luminous intensity of an emitting source: the luminous flux. Clearly it corresponds to the output of the light source

The more lumen your lamp has, the more it will light. It will be necessary to start preferably on a fluorescent tube of quality with a luminous intensity on the neighbourhoods of 70 lumens/W

For a Led lighting, the reference value for a good lighting is around 30 lumens per liter. For that it will be necessary to multiply its litrage by 30.

 

Light spectrum

It is a precise visual representation of the decomposition of radiation emitted by a light source.

The visualization of this emission spectrum allows to know perfectly the radiation of the source and to evaluate if this one corresponds well to the necessary characteristics:

  • For a development of the aquarium,
  • For the beings that compose it 
  • For the plants to ensure photosynthesis

 

Conclusion

In summary, in the aquatic environment, lighting is very important for the following reasons:

The reproduction of a natural life cycle as in nature with the radiation of the sun.

Lighting for the good health of fish and plants and you can choose one more specifically according to your needs.

A good growth for plants thanks to the stimulation by photosynthesis.

An aesthetic side allowing to appreciate at best its decoration and its fish. It offers a good luminosity and a clear and transparent vision of the aquarium.

The aquarium must not receive direct sunlight.

The aquarium should be left on for a maximum of 8 to 12 hours per day.

 

 

Ben
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