Lamps for the aquarium not only adorn the design of a mini water body, they also have a certain functional load. After all, their light is needed not so much for you and the fish, as for the plants, but they are important in the fight against harmful microorganisms. Therefore, before rushing into the store for buying a designer lamp, let's find out what kinds of products manufacturers offer us and what they are intended for. Here are three categories of lighting:
- open hanging;
- built-in aquarium lid;
- open, installed from the top.
But the lamps themselves are of different types: fluorescent, incandescent, energy-saving, LED, ultraviolet, bactericidal, submersible. And then you can get confused.
How to choose a lamp for an aquarium?
1. Usually simple fluorescent lamps for an aquarium are used for lighting, but incandescent lamps are less frequent, since they do not shine well and radiate heat that raises the water temperature.
Fluorescent lamps are economical, so the recommended twelve hours of artificial lighting per day will cost you less. They have a large output power of light. They contain mercury vapor under low pressure and gas, usually argon. The inside of the lamp is coated with a phosphor, due to which the ultraviolet is converted into visible radiation. A little annoying is the fact that this unit must be connected with electronic ballast or throttle.
2. Lamps for plants of the aquarium - incandescent lamps , although luminescent with the correct distribution and power of light, too, will perfectly cope with this task. They contribute to the good growth of aquatic plantations, the normal passage of the process of photosynthesis.
3. Most companies specializing in the production of aquarium products have long made it possible to illuminate aquaria with energy-saving lamps . Thanks to these you will be able to distribute as much as possible the light in the aquarium of any size and shape.
4. In combination with energy-saving for the aquarium, LED lamps are used . They are recommended in large aquariums, where there is a lot of vegetation.
5. The ultraviolet lamp primarily serves as a sterilizer for the aquarium. More precisely, it disinfects water from bacteria, various viruses, harmful algae and fungi. The bactericidal lamp for aquariums has the same properties that has emerged "from the people" from medical institutions.
6. Only the above-water lamps are not enough, because not all the light passes through the thickness of the water. A submersible lamp for an aquarium, recommended by specialists, will help to compensate for the lack of lighting. These lamps can be of different colors. How to decorate the glazed water world, depends only on the designer, namely you. Submersible lamps and lighting fixtures are hermetic and designed to be connected to an AC mains. The advantage of this type of lighting is the ability to work continuously without shutting down. Submersible lamps are mostly luminescent, placed in a sealed tube. Their power supply can be built into the flask, and maybe also external. Green, red, blue and white color solutions are in great demand.
Calculation of lamps for an aquarium
The calculation is very simple. Two principles must be taken into account. The first - for one centimeter of the length of the artificial pond should account for about one watt of lamp power. And the second - for one liter of water, the capacity is not less than half a watt.
Well, when the aquarium is finally ready, you can populate it with fish, crawfish, shrimp and other livestock.