Sooner or later every aquarist thinks about how to choose a lamp for a home aquarium. After all, it is sufficient lighting that guarantees normal life and productivity to all residents of both freshwater and marine home aquariums.
Instructions
Step 1
First of all, choose the type of lamp that best suits your aquarium.
Step 2
An incandescent lamp is a bulb, inside of which a metal spiral glows with an electric current flowing through it. Such a lamp for a home aquarium generates too much heat and gives too much diffused light. In addition, its service life is rather short. The only thing that still attracts some hobbyists to this lamp is its cheapness.
Step 3
A good tool for lighting a home aquarium is a halogen lamp. Its appearance is very similar to an incandescent lamp. But in its action it is very different from it. Halogen aquarium lamps emit very intense light and do not generate excessive heat. They are ideal for the rapid growth of aquarium algae. The main disadvantage of halogen lamps is their fragility.
Step 4
The most popular light sources for home aquariums are fluorescent lamps, which provide soft, diffused light. Objects illuminated by such devices do not cast harsh shadows. Such lamps are capable of illuminating a sufficiently large surface. In addition, fluorescent lamps are very easy to install and have a fairly high durability. Their principle of operation is based on the fact that instead of a metal spiral, an inert gas pumped into the flask glows. The disadvantage of fluorescent lamps is a decrease in their brightness as they are used.
Step 5
More recently, discharge lamps have begun to be used in the aquarium hobby. They are quite economical, and are twice as bright as luminescent ones. Discharge lamps generate a lot of heat. This is their main drawback.
Step 6
When choosing a lamp for your home aquarium, pay attention to its wattage. It should correspond to the volume of the illuminated container (0.5 watts per 1 liter of water). Remember that too much light can negatively affect the inhabitants of the aquarium.
