Reef Lighting Requirements

A reef tank is a name for a specific type of marine or saltwater aquarium. A reef tanks contains corals and invertebrates, in addition to fish and live rock. The goal of a reef tank is to simulate the natural environment as much as possible for the fish, corals and invertebrates in the tank. One important aspect to keep in mind is the lighting used and how long the light is kept on.

  1. Types

    • According to Frank Indiviglio, author of "The Everything Aquarium Book," the two basic types of aquarium lamps powerful enough for reef lighting are metal halide and fluorescent lamps. Indiviglio recommends metal halide lamps over fluorescent, but notes that metal halide lamps are more expensive than fluorescent. Because of the heat given off by metal halide lamps, they should be placed at least 12 inches above the water.

    Time Frame

    • Indiviglio recommends that the fish keeper should research where their fish, coral macroalgaes (marine plants) or invertebrates are from. This will then reveal how long the lights are to be left on. For example, if the saltwater creatures live near the equator, then they are used to having light for 12 hours. Timers can be added to the lighting to make sure the reef tank gets enough hours of light per day on a daily basis.

    Light Color Temperature

    • According to "Lighting the Reef Tank: A Primer for Beginners" (see Resources), reef tanks need lamps that put off at least 5500 Kelvin. This is also called the light color temperature. This is different from watts, which is the amount of electricity the bulb uses. The color temperature of bulbs for reef tanks replicate the color of the sun, but this color changes in deeper water in the ocean, so different bulbs may be more suitable for deep-water corals.

    Placement

    • Indiviglio warns that reef tanks with hot lights should be positioned away from windows, especially in the summer. The heat from the sun can make the tank too hot. AquariumGuys.com recommends that one way to keep the temperature in check is to use a small cooling fan on the light. Many metal halide lights for reef tanks are sold with small cooling fans.

    Potential

    • According to "Lighting the Reef Tank: A Primer for Beginners" (see Resources), hobbyists are trying to find ways to combine both fluorescent and metal halide lighting. This may produce some interesting reef lighting alternatives in the future, but unless a person is an experienced electrician, it is not recommended to experiment with lighting equipment.