Aquarium Lights – Metal Halide Lighting

You’ve got an aquarium and inside are the most lovable creatures that perfectly resemble the underwater scene. However, the problem that’s bugging you is what kind of light to match with your aquarium. There’s no reason to fret. Metal halide lighting offers the best lighting experience for any aquarium today. It is most popular among hobbyists especially the reefs and plants enthusiasts these days because it gives a truly “sun-like” effect on the water. Aside from that, metal halide lighting has a dancing rippling reflection of light on the water that has yet been unmatched.

Metal halide lighting provides you with a lot of options but you have to consider what will be kept in the aquarium and the amount of brightness necessary. You could also create some effect on your aquarium by selecting the color light you desire from the bulb. Metal halide bulbs are available in colors of blue, green, aqua, and pink. Metal halide bulbs, on the other hand, can produce five times the brightness of incandescent lamps.

Metal halide bulbs now come in wattages of 50, 150, 175, 250, and 400 so that you have an array of options as to the intensity of brightness you want for your aquarium. The wattages basically determine the brightness of metal halide bulbs. Temperatures can also be regulated in the aquarium using the metal halide bulbs. The bulbs’ temperatures are measured in Kelvin and today’s common choices are 4500, 5500, 6500, 10,000, 12,000, 15,000 and 20,000K bulbs. Lamps in lower degree Kelvin temperatures appear whiter or more yellowish, while those in higher temperatures have bluer hues.

Many freshwater plant enthusiasts prefer temperatures at the 5500-6500K range for their fresh water plants while saltwater reef hobbyists use the bluer lamps at temperatures ranging from 10,000-20,000 degree Kelvin.

Utmost care must also be taken that the temperature in the aquarium is kept moderate and this can be attained if the aquarium is placed in a properly ventilated room. The reason for this is that metal halide lighting releases heat and raises the Fahrenheit/Celsius temperature of the aquarium water. Especially for saltwater reef aquariums, some tanks have attached chiller unit to cool the water.

You can likewise experiment on your metal halide lighting to add more style. The lights are available in the forms of pendants, independent bulb hoods, ventilated hoods, combination hoods (fluorescent, compact, and halide), high-tech hoods, retro kits, and kits that are custom-made.

To complete your system of metal halide lighting, you’d need a ballast to convert electrical energy to light energy. Some metal halide systems have built-in ballasts but for those that require a separate purchase, recommended is electrical ballast because it’s more efficient although more expensive than the tar style ballasts.