Aquarium light exposure for your fishes is an important aspect that requires careful consideration when you are planning your aquarium design. You need to decide the amount of lighting you want to provide for them. If too little or too much light is given, there will be bad consequences for both your fishes and live plants in your aquarium.

The intensity and the period of lighting needed depend on the type of fishes you have in the aquarium. If your fishes are those that are more active in the night than day, then low lighting is recommended. If you have fishes which are already accustomed to bright light while in the wild, they would certainly prefer to have bright lighting when placed in a fish tank. Hence, you need to provide brighter aquarium lighting for this kind of fishes.

As live plants are dependent on lighting for their survival, there should be sufficient lighting provided for them within an appropriate length of time for a day. It is important to note that providing too little light can cause the gradual death of plant and corals. This is because too little light will inhibit the process of photosynthesis and the plants will turn yellow. On the other hand, providing too much light can cause the production of algae. The growth of algae would not only be found on the glass of the tank, but also on some of the plants as well. The plants will eventually be choked to death by the algae. Thus, it would be good that the aquarium light is connected to a timer and be switched on for about 10 hours a day. All fishes need a day and night light cycle to be repeated.

It is advisable to note that a fish has a biorhythm that responds to changing intensity of lighting. Initially, when you switch off the aquarium light, you should wait for about 10 minutes before switching off the room lights. This is to allow the fish some time to adjust. If they are plunged to sudden darkness, they may panic and swim wildly. After the fishes are well adjusted to the surroundings in the aquarium, you can switch off both the aquarium lights and room lights at the same time. Another point to note is that fluorescent tubes radiate light in all directions. In order to direct the light to shine on the aquarium, it would be good to fix a reflector to the lighting. That would help to maximise the use of light produced.

Aquarium light exposure for your fishes is an aspect you need to consider carefully. The above are some points for you to note when you consider the amount of lighting you wish to provide for your aquarium. Appropriate amount of lighting is necessary for them to live well. Please visit Aquarium Lights website for more information.