pLights are one of the most important a href=http://www.marinedepot.com/ target=_blankaquarium products/a to have. They help make the conditions in marine fish tanks as close to its natural environment as possible. Aquarium lights are necessary to maintain proper behavioral cycles and for marine plants to grow and thrive. Improper or inadequate lighting can cause your fish to be stressed, more susceptible to diseases, and have poor appearance and coloration./p
pDifferent marine fish tanks need different kinds of aquarium lights, based on their size, depth, and the kind of organisms inside. Small, shallow fish tanks require only low intensity light, whereas deeper tanks need a higher intensity of light to penetrate the entire aquarium. The intensity of a href=http://www.marinedepot.com/lighting__index-ap.html target=_blankaquarium lights/a can be measured in watts. A general rule of thumb when matching aquarium lights to the size of marine fish tanks is to use 3 to 5 watts of lighting per gallon of water. So a 55 gallon tank would require an aquarium light with 165 to 275 watts./p
pFluorescent lights/p
pFluorescent bulbs are the most popular and readily available kind of aquarium light. The most affordable kind of fluorescent lamp is the Normal Output (NO) lamp. However, NO lamps provide only low intensity lighting. They have wattages that range from 15 to 60 watts, which make them unsuitable for a href=http://www.marinedepot.com/aquariums_tanks__index-ap.html target=_blankmarine fish tanks/a. A NO lamp is best used for freshwater fish only tanks./p
pHO and VHO lamps/p
pMarine fish tanks require moderate to high intensity lighting. High output (HO) and Very High Output (VHO) lamps are suitable for saltwater tanks that only contain fish. HO lamps are not as readily available as the VHO kind. Both HO and VHO lamps require special ballasts and end caps in order to be used as aquarium lights./p
pPC bulbs/p
pPower compact (PC) bulbs are fluorescent bulbs that can be used to light any kind of marine fish tank. They also need special ballasts and light fixtures to work. However, they are the most energy efficient out of all the kinds of lights./p
pIf you really need a high intensity light source, a metal halide lamp is your best bet. Metal halides are used to light marine fish tanks containing corals and anemones, fish with high light requirements, and deep marine fish tanks with plants./p
pKeep these in mind and youll be able to choose the right kind of aquarium light for your marine fish tank./p