Cost Effective Aquarium Lighting

The way that you light you tank is going to have a direct effect on how attractive your tank is and the health of its fish and plants. A regular day/night lighting cycle is the best way to do it, but regularly priced aquarium lights can be expensive. In early 2010, brand new aquarium lighting ran between $100 and $350. If you don't want to sink that much into the aquarium, there are cheaper lighting alternatives to consider.

  1. Second Hand Lighting

    • Aquarium enthusiasts frequently upgrade and improve their tanks, which means they could be interested in getting rid of perfectly good equipment so they can get the next step up. The Craigslist and Freecycle web pages for your area can be a good place to start looking for such second hand equipment. Specialized sites like AquariumClassifieds also offer slightly used aquarium goods.

    Outdated Lighting

    • Aquarium equipment is always improving, which means some wholly adequate equipment is dismissed as being old-fashioned. For instance, consider the bulkier setups, like lighting that comes with external ballasts. While you do need separate tube holders to attach these lights to the lid of your tank, it will still be a low-cost option for lighting. It's also worthwhile to check major online dealers like PremiumAquatics and AquariumPros for clearance sales on older, but still effective lighting equipment.

    Build Your Own

    • Many aquarium retail stores sell lighting kits with the understanding that you can build the hood and assemble it yourself. The hood part does take some woodworking skill, but this can be a cost-efficient way to get the aquarium lighting you want.