The Deep Dive Into Reef Aquarium Lighting
Lighting is important because it directly affects how we visually enjoy the hobby and more importantly the vast majority of the corals in our tanks are photosynthetic. In this article we will first cover some of the basics of the light itself and then discuss the various lighting technologies people use to light their reefs.
Lighting Makes All The Difference
There are only three things you need to be successful in this hobby, good water quality, good water flow, and good light. All of those things are pretty involved but lighting in particular gets a lot of discussion because of the three it is the most expensive and the thing that is going to most dramatically affect how the fish and corals in your tank will look.
CORAL Excerpt: Seeing The Light—The conversion from years of metal halide use to radically new LEDs
Needless to say, switching from my tried and true metal halide setup to LEDs was not a decision I made lightly.
Sandhi 善迪 says:
Amazing spot. I love this part of knowledge: "Every small, free square inch is quickly occupied by Xeniidae corals. But, they seem to serve a very important function, preparing the substrate, and binding every piece of coral rubble together so sponges and coralline algae can finish the job by cementing everything up. Thus, later, coral larvae can settle on this newly stabilized real estate." Thank you, VincentNew Ocean-Inspired Designs from Walt Smith says:
[…] over 5 years ago, at the tail end of 2017, Fiji’s government unilaterally banned coral exports, leaving WSI with nothing more than fish and invertebrates to send to customers around the globe. […]CORAL New Issue “FREE THE FISHES” Inside Look says:
[…] of Contents for the May/June 2023 issue of CORAL Magazine. You can view this TOC online. “Is keeping a marine aquarium morally right? Is it ethically correct? Is it something we can […]Jon Gordon says:
Please sign this to support common sense rules in Florida. Ask Fish and Wildlife not to use an ill-advised whitelist of animals that can be kept. All you need to do is add your name to the following statement, "A viable option I support would be a list of prohibited species, which would be a much smaller, manageable and enforceable list than one that attempts to encompass all allowed species. " https://petadvocacy.org/advocacy-campaigns?vvsrc=%2FPetitions%2F3902%2FRespondBryce David says:
To whom it may concern, A whitelist approach to regulating which species are legally allowed to be obtained and traded will decimate fish farms and pet stores. This is not a well thought out approach for combating invasive species release into ecosystems. Best Management Practices have already made inroads on preventing the release of foreign invader species. I suggest a review of those practices and amend them if they are deemed to be insufficient. Sincerely, Bryce DavidEdward Moats says:
I urge you to consider the ramifications of losing a 172 million dollar industry in your state. I completely support the black list and agree that invasive species is a big concern. However , I feel that this bill is over reaching and will have a negative impact not only On the industry , but to Florida’s economy.