The Best Planted Aquarium Lighting Fixture – Reviews & Buying Guide

Why do I Need a Fish Tank Lighting?

• Well, when we put it this way, there are a few things to keep in mind. First off, a fish tank is not really a fish tank if there is no lighting.
• Individuals who take care of their aqua pets in aquariums would want to see them whenever they wish so. Thus a fish tank light can give great visibility to them in seeing their marine pets even when it is dark.
• Then again, one main purpose of fitting lights is their aesthetic value, as you already know how pretty fish tank can turn into if lit properly.
• Precise aqua lighting enhances and ensures the healthy growth of water plants which is a vital part you never want to miss out on while growing the hobby of petting goldfishes.
• Another aspect is that many kinds of goldfish cannot survive without little warmth. So to keep them alive and cheerful, you must arrange some sort of lighting to your fish tank.

Who Makes Best Aquarium Lights in Market?

Nicrew

Nicrew LED aquarium light bulbs are always many customers’ favorite. The Nicrew is a trusted brand worldwide when it comes to taking care of people’s pets in fishbowls. This brand is popular in making and supplying affordable yet durable fish tank lights. In addition, Nicrew’s illuminators help support Anubias, java ferns in a small aqua ecosystem.

Koval

This brand has a lot of happy customers in its 9 years of establishment. Koval LED aquarium light is the most recommended product that is indeed a worthy buy. Koval’s aqua essentials are so versatile and durable in nature, making the brand to be at the top among many people.

Hygger

Hygger is popular for producing high-quality LED marine lights for a long time now and surely has their good reputation already peaked up in this field. Moreover, Hygger aquarium lights have a flexible mounting bracket for easy installation, which contributes much to users’ satisfaction.

How does LED Aquarium Lighting Work?

LED fish tank lights, as mentioned before, are very important for aquariums. They illuminate a fish tank or bowl immediately, which has a huge impact.

1. Aquarium lights, as they light up the tank, impart a healthy effect on fishes by keeping them cheerful.
2. Fish tank illuminators do generally work towards spreading artificial light in a fish bowl that lacks natural sunlight.
3. But a fish bowl is not really a natural habitat of pet goldfishes. So LEDs do the work of illuminating a fishbowl as and when needed, with an exact amount or intensity of light.
4. It is very important to keep a balance between how much light your goldfishes are in.
5. If there are no external lights, then it might be hard and frightening for fish to stay in the dark.

How to Set Up LED Aquarium Lights?

1. Only after finishing setting up all steps of filling up an aqua tank, you have to pay attention to its lighting part.
2. If an aquascape is of standard size, we recommend fitting 2 heaters and lights in it. But if a fish tank is of small size, a single heater and lighting would do the job.
3. A person can either go for a submersible light and heater or stay above light only. Both are quite efficient in keeping fish warm.
4. Always go for low voltage lights as they are way safer for tanks and fish than those high voltage ones.
5. Now, one has to place the light on their aquascape’s walls if it is a clip-on light. If it is a lid-style aquarium light, one has to fix it on top of their fish tank.
6. Set your fishbowl light timer accordingly, keeping in mind the size of your fish tank and how much light it really needs to be warm. Setting it at 6/8/10 hours is safe, as per our professionals.

What Kind of Light do Aquarium Plants Need?

Compact Fluorescent Lights

Compact fluorescent lights are famous for being energy efficient and, therefore, cost-efficient as well. These types of best fish tank illuminators are way smaller in size than those standard fluorescent ones. Yet, these compact fluorescent bulbs give off much more light than standard ones. Moreover, these kinds produce extra heat, so you might want to make use of an exhaust fan in a fish tank.

Metal Halide Lighting

If we are to name a powerful type of aquarium lamp, that will surely be these metal halide lights. These lights also produce so much heat underneath the water. Hence, one would be left with no other option than to install an exhaust fan in compulsion. These metal halides penetrate the water of a tank as deep as 24 inches so try to avoid these bulbs if a fishbowl is not large enough.

Planted Aquarium LED Lighting

Generally, a fish tank with only fishes does not need much variation in lighting. It is because fishes are not really dependent on light for their lives. But that is not the case when we own a planted aquarium. One has to look out for a light that arrives designed to help plants grow in fish tanks as well. These kinds of lighting support plants to live.

Reef Aquarium LED Lighting

These best reef aquarium LED best reef aquarium led lighting types, also known as saltwater aqua lights, are another famous one. They are pretty much different than freshwater aqua lights set up. Usually, one can use fluorescent as led reef aquarium lights, mostly standard fluorescent ones. But depending on the need, metal halides can also come in handy for such lighting.

How to Use Aquarium Light?

1. First, check what type of aqua light you have. Determining a fish tank’s type is a primary step towards using its illuminator.
2. If you have an underwater aqua light, simply put it under the water carefully, and turn its switch on. Ensure to avoid where fishes swim.
3. Those who have a fish tank wall light place the light in any position as desired. Adjust it just above a fish tank and press lights against a wall so that its suction cups hold the light in place.
4. If you have a fish tank lid illuminator, simply place it on top of your aqua as a lid. Make sure its wires are not touching water and turn its switch on. 

How Long to Leave Aquarium Lights on Planted Tank?

So now that you know that planted tanks and only fish tanks are quite different in their natures let us inform you how long you should keep the lighting on in planted tanks. In a fish-only tank, the lighting requirement is lower than a planted one. While a fish-only tank requires around 4 to 5 hours of lighting, a planted aquascape needs about 8 hours of light. Remember never to exceed this boundary of 8 hours in a day. Also, if your planted aquarium is still freshly formed or new, then avoid keeping lights turned on for more than 6 hours a day. Gradually, this time limitation gets loosened to up to 8 hours.

Can LED Lights Grow Aquarium Plants?

Answer to this specific question is yes. LED aqua light bulbs can grow aqua plants perfectly well, as long as you know what intensity of light is necessary to grow what kind of plants. However, just because LEDs can grow aquaurium plants, it does not mean that you can use them to grow any plant in a fish tank. For example, low-intensity LED lighting can propel the growth of plants like Anubias, Cryptocoryne, Javascript, etc., low-light aqua plants. In comparison, medium lighting is good for growing carpets on a tank surface.

Can I Use Freshwater Lights for Saltwater Aquarium?

When you see 2 separated products, such as freshwater lights and saltwater aquarium lighting, it is mostly because of their bulb type. Freshwater aquariums need illumination, which is far more soft and delicate than those intense illuminators used in saltwater fishbowls. Saltwater fish tanks need a light of around 8000k to 10000k intensity, while freshwater tanks need illuminators of around 4500k to 6000k intensity. So you know why freshwater aquarium lighting would clearly not be sufficient for a saltwater aquarium. Apart from intensities, there is no harm in using a freshwater light in a saltwater aquarium.

Can I Use Glow Lights in My Freshwater Aquarium?

Yes, you can. Glow lights add a sparkle of beauty to freshwater aquariums and light up the whole room, marine plants, and rocks. Apart from that, these illuminators turn a fishbowl’s interior into marine pets’ natural habitat. However, pets in freshwater aquariums are not really very demanding, so it is easy to look after them as well. So we would not recommend expensive glow lights as far as petting is concerned.

How to Hang Aquarium Lights?

Those who are wondering “How to install aquarium light?” can be at ease with these pieces of information as below:

• One would need to anchor their aqua lights’ suspension cables into walls properly to hang them. Almost all suspension kits provide cables, so keep an eye out while buying one.
• If luck is there, you will succeed in anchoring cables directly through a wooden stud. But, most probably, it would not match, and you might have to opt for an alternate anchor style.
• Try using toggle bolts to anchor suspension cables safely through a drywall ceiling. Bolts should be long enough to let us anchor them through a ceiling completely.
• Laser lines or chalk lines are very useful in marking precise placements of measurements you have taken on a wall. Make sure to place a light fixture in an exact position over a fish tank.
• Those who cannot afford to dig a hole in walls might want to take recourse to mount arms available at quite a cheap price.
• Voila! Here is the answer for “how to hang led aquarium lights?”.