LIGHT CYCLES

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Hi all aquarium hobbyists/enthusiasts! We hope you enjoy our blogs.

 

Light Cycles

The goal of aquarium lighting is to recreate the natural habitat of your organisms. It is important to consider the day and night cycle of light.  It is easy to forget how important this is for the beginning aquarist.

Imagine how stressed you would become if you had to live under bright lights, or very little or no light, for 24hours a day, every day.  Improper lighting stresses fish and causes health problems for them.  So you must simulate the day and night light cycle that your fish are used to, with your aquarium lighting.

For daylight, when using fluorescent bulbs or metal halide bulbs, make sure they provide the proper wavelengths of the daylight spectrum that is important to the health of your particular habitat.  Regarding placing your aquarium in direct sunlight, this seems logical, but it can actually cause overheating, accelerated algae growth, and can be fatal.

And don't forget to provide about 12 hours of night.  Most natural environments are rarely pitch black at night. Instead most are lit by low-intensity moonlight.  A blue light can simulate the hours of dusk and dawn; lunar LEDs are an excellent source of night lighting.  They provide enough illumination for viewing nocturnal behavior while providing enough darkness to allow organisms to rest.

Proper light and night cycles promote good health and natural behaviors, such as spawning.  So plan your lighting in terms of daylight and moonlight.  Proper day/night light cycles provide the very best conditions for a thriving aquarium.

In the next blog, we'll talk about Choosing the right Location.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Team OCReef.com