Open aquariums and their lighting
An open aquarium is a great option for people looking for modern and designer solutions in aquariums. It is preferred especially by enthusiasts of styles such as Dutch, Japanese or biotope aquariums. Thanks to its natural appearance, an open aquarium can become an attractive element of interior design and attract the attention of guests. It also ensures better air humidity in the room, which is especially beneficial for people suffering from respiratory diseases.
Open aquariums are tanks without a lighting cover. In their case, lighting mounted on beams or hanging lamps is used. Lamps for mounting on the side edges or on the rear wall of the tank are also often used. The latter are dedicated to smaller capacity “nano” tanks.
Why do we illuminate the aquarium?
There are usually two reasons. First of all, the tank has to look nice, i.e. natural. The light is supposed to make fish and plants have beautiful colors appropriate for a given species, and the whole thing will be an undisputed decoration of the room. The second goal is equally important – the vast majority of aquarists want to have healthy, well-growing plants in their aquarium. And plants need light to grow for 10-12 hours a day, which is the “drive” for photosynthesis – a natural process as a result of which they transform inorganic compounds into organic substances necessary for their life. Therefore, correctly selected light will also guarantee that the aquarium will look nice and that the plants will grow well in it.
How much light in the aquarium?
How much light does an aquarium require? It depends on what species of plants we intend to grow there. In terms of light requirements, they can be divided into three groups:
Group I – shade-tolerant species, e.g. “pelia”, mosses, winged microsorium, screw moss, some plants (e.g. Aponogetonofolia, Wendt’s assemblage, Backett’s assemblage, Malay assemblage), anubias.
Group II – species that are moderately light-loving, e.g. ball-shaped seaweed, water-wort, roseworts, tiger lotus, ludwigia, broad-leafed water-wort, three-flowered water-wort, frogwort, broad-leafed dart, Argentine waterweed, giant common waterwort, compacts, limnophiles, small-leaved bacopa, Thai marmoset, ponikło , japanese blyksa, spearworts.
Group III – species that are definitely photophilous, e.g. cabombas, “glossostigma”, hemianthus.
Usually, the conversion of lighting power to the liter of the aquarium is used. It is conventionally assumed that in the case of LED lamps for growing shade-tolerant plants, it is necessary to have at least 0.15-0.2 W for each liter of water. Medium-demanding plants need 0.25-0.4 W/l, and those definitely light-loving even 0.5-0.7 W/l.
A “day” in an aquarium can fall on virtually any part of the day. If the tank is located far from windows and is lit only by artificial light, the times the lighting can be turned on and off can be virtually any. It’s best to simply adjust them to our preferences and the hours when we are usually present in the apartment (e.g. “dawn” at 3 p.m. and “dusk” at 1 a.m.). Then, we can enjoy the beauty of our own “piece of the underwater world” in brightly lit places.
