Introduction

Live plants and your fish need to have lighting. Here is the recommended amount of light you need for your aquarium.

Sunlight

When you set up make sure you do not put it where it is exposed to direct sunlight. The reason is because unless you have blinds and drapes on your windows you may not be able to control the temperature in your aquarium.

Even if you do have blinds and drapes, you will need to be at home all the time to ensure they are open and shut to keep your fish and plants happy. That is a lot of work, so use a light on a timer.

Another reason not to use sunlight is it will produce algae in your aquarium. There are always some algae in any aquarium, but most Aquarist use algae eaters to keep the algae in check. I have three African Featherfin Catfish and three Plecos.

With sunlight these bottom feeders will not be able to keep up with the algae growth and your water will turn green if it is exposed to direct sunlight.

Fluorescent Light

Most Aquarist will use fluorescent lights to light up their aquarium. The lights will help your plants to grow and also keep your fish happy. These lights also will not heat up the water in your aquarium.

The best thing about using this type of lighting is that it can be easily controlled so you will not develop algae. I have my lighting on a timer. The lights are on for twelve hours and off for twelve hours.

The drawback to this type of lighting is that as time goes on the intensity of the lighting will decrease and you will not be able to detect it. It is suggested that you change out one light fixture a month to prevent this problem from occurring.

Mercury Vapor Lighting

Some Aquarist will use mercury vapor lighting. They select this method because they have a deep tank and other lighting will not penetrate the water to reach the plants at the bottom of the tank.

If your aquarium is more than twenty inches deep you should consider using this method of lighting.

Conclusion

When you are considering lighting for your aquarium you have three choices. Sunlight is one choice but is not recommended since it takes a lot of work to control it.

Fluorescent lighting is recommended since you can control it by putting it on a timer. But if you have a tank that is greater than twenty inches, you should consider mercury vapor lighting since the light is stronger and can reach the plants at the bottom.