The life of any living organism is closely related to light. In an aquarium, an excess of light can provoke the growth of the simplest algae and lead to many other troubles. However, if there is not enough light, your plants will not grow properly or even die.
Instructions
Step 1
It is very difficult to adjust natural light, sometimes it is simply impossible, therefore it is necessary to use additional artificial light to ensure the full life of the aquarium, first of all it is important for your plants. The correct lighting power and duration will help you achieve the best result.
Step 2
First of all, you need to know that the aquarium must be evenly lit, this can only be achieved using artificial light. Experts say that, ideally, the aqua should be illuminated only with special lamps, without the participation of sunlight, since it is the sun's rays that provoke the growth of brown algae. Place the aquarium away from the window and purchase special lighting fixtures.
Step 3
You need to know some general recommendations that allow you to choose the right power for fluorescent lamps for your aquarium. If your aquarium is about forty centimeters deep, then calculating the lighting is quite simple: use lamps that can give you one watt per centimeter of the length of the aquarium. For example, if the length is 50 cm, then you need a 50 W lamp. There is another, more universal method of calculation: for every liter of your aquarium, 0.5 W should fall, that is, for a volume of 60 liters, a 30 W lamp is enough.
Step 4
Most of the lighting is needed for your aquarium plants. Probably many people know that most of the ornamental algae come from the tropics. In such a climate, the duration of daylight hours is on average twelve hours, and it is worth starting from this figure. For plants in your aquarium, a daylight length of 12 hours may be a good option, but keep in mind that you must first calculate the power of the devices correctly, without this, the length of daylight hours does not matter, since the lighting will be either too bright or too dim.
