LED Reef Aquarium Lighting
The choice of lighting for a reef tank will have a significant impact upon coral growth and coloration.
When selecting a lighting system for a reef aquarium, the main factors to consider are:
- Light Intensity
- Spectrum
- Tank Inhabitants
Light Intensity
The intensity of the light depends upon the type and wattage of lighting, depth of the tank, and distance of light source from the water surface. LED aquarium lights are design to reef tank perfectly, the LED light replace the fluorescent light is the 2011 lighting trends. Nowadays LED aquarium light no longer expensive, at www.ledgrowlight-hydro.com, a 120W LED aquarium light with 2W chip only $269.85, and USA and CA FREE SHIPPING.
Spectrum
In order to begin to understand the available spectrum choices of lamps suitable for aquarium use, we must first analyze how light naturally penetrates water. Red light is the first to be filtered out and can only penetrate a short distance. As light waves penetrate deeper into the water, orange and yellow are lost next. Of all the colors of the spectrum blue light penetrates the deepest.
Light spectrum is measured by the Kelvin scale. Natural sunlight on a clear day registers at 5500 Kelvin degrees. Kelvin temperatures less than 5500 become more red and yellow and the higher the Kelvin temperature the more blue the light is. Photosynthetic invertebrates should be kept under lamps rated at or near the Kelvin temperature where the invertebrate was collected. Shallow water species should be kept under 10000K lamps while deep water species would prefer 20000K lighting. Longer photoperiods will not compensate for incorrect light spectrum or intensity.
Actinic Lighting
Actinic lighting peaks in the 420 nanometer range and emits a LED blue light and is usually used as supplemental lighting. Not only is actinic lighting beneficial to photosynthetic invertebrates, it is also aesthetically pleasing to the eye when used to supplement daylight lighting.
Refugium Lighting
Refugium plants benefit from lighting with a Kelvin temperature in the range of 5500 – 6500 degrees.
Coral Species Light Requirement Chart
| Species | Intensity | Water Column |
|---|---|---|
| SPS Corals | High | Upper |
| LPS Corals | Moderate-High | Middle |
| Soft Corals | Low-Moderate | Lower |
| Corallimorpharians | Low-Moderate | Lower |
| Anemones | Low-Moderate | Sandbed |
| Zoanthids | Low-Moderate | Lower |

