This article is intended to give an overview of aquarium lighting and lighting methods on the market today.

White & warm white standard fluorescent lighting

This should be the basic aquarium lighting for every freshwater tank. Plants grow best within these normal color temp range. There are special versions that would make you plants grow faster and better but I would stick with the regular ones, they are much cheaper and work alright.

The ultraviolet fluorescent tubes

These tubes will brighten the red and bleu color spectrum in the aquarium. I would not recommend to use these tubes as the standard light of the tank, combining an ultraviolet tube with a warm white one is an option though, if you like the colors. For me the colors of the fish and plants become unnatural, but if you like it and don't use it as your only light source it does not harm either. An other option is to use the ultraviolet aquarium lighting only in the evening and the white one during the day.

Underwater Submersible Light

This kind of light is new to the aquarium hobby, underwater light was available for pond setups a longer period of time. It is not suitable for a 'natural' aquarium, but if you fancy some cool light effects in your tank, the fish don't mind just don't leave it on all night. To make the whole spicy light effect complete there is also a blue variant that will accent the colors of the fish.

Reef aquarium Lighting

For reef aquariums with corals that need intense light the best way to go is with Metal Halide lighting, it provides the amount of light needed for corals, clams and anemones to survive. For corals that prefer low to moderate lighting you can use VHO (Very High Output) fluorescent or PC (Power Compact) fluorescent lighting.