Fluorescent lighting for the Aquarium

Some terms explained (simply I hope)

lumen : a unit of light

Watt: a unit of power

Colour temperature:
This one is quite tricky to explain.
We all know what a rainbow is it goes from Red at one end to Violet at the other.
Below red (infra-red) is heat , Above Violet (ultra-violet) is the stuff that gives us sunburn!
The blue/violet end is the higher-energy end, and the red is the lower energy end.
So unlike our bathroom taps red is cold(lower value) and blue is hot(higher value)
The unit of colour temperature is the Kelvin or K
The "normal" daylight spectrum  (range of light) is roughly 5500 K to 7500 K

Fluorescent lamp fittings:

T-fittings are measured in Eights of an inch, so a t5 is 5/8ths and a t8 is 1 inch
the lamp power is dependent on length:-

Length (cm/inches)   
T5
54.9 / 22"          24 watt
84.9 / 34"          39 watt
114.9 / 46"   54 watt
144.9 / 60"   80 watt

Length (inches)   
T8
15"   15 watt
18"   15 watt
24"   20 watt
30"   25 watt
36"   30 watt
42"   40 watt
48"   40 watt
60"   58 watt


 The Power output is   dependent on length, you can't change up to a more powerful lamp of the same size like you can with iridescent lamps, although you can get High output T5; these have more Lumens per Watt .



What do I need in my tank?

 In smaller aquaria ,a single lamp  is usually  provided , solely for showing of your fish's colours; they generally only come with one fitting in the hood, but sometimes have space for two.

  A lamp with a low K rating emits redder light and exhibits more vivid colours than a lamp with a higher K rating (emitting bluer light).

Normal-output fluorescent lamps are quite popular in fish-only aquaria.  If you wish to have plants, you might have little choice but to either add another tube, or change to LED. With a bigger/longer tank you have more room to mix and match T5/T8


The higher the colour temperature (K) the deeper the light penetrates in your tank(because it has more energy)


 In the Freshwater Planted Aquarium , lamps should be used to provide the full spectrum range of light (5500 K to 7500 K), most plants require ( for photosynthesis).

 As a general rule, provide between 2 and 5 watts per gallon. For deeper  tanks the higher the higher figure is desirable.

 

I have tried to keep this simple

I shall use this.

Wow that makes sense. All those fancy words made easy. 

lol Skwishie: here's what I wrote to them

Sirs,
 in the June issue your columnist (NATHAN HILL) gave an answer to the question on tank pH which betrayed a COMPLETE lack of understanding of water chemistry...He mentioned that Hydrogen ions and Hydroxl ions were present . THIS IS COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY WRONG

Brønsted–Lowry    acid defn:,   an acid is a proton donor, there must be a base to accept the proton. So the concept can be defined by the reaction:

    acid + base is in equilibrium with(=) conjugate base + conjugate acid.

The conjugate base is the ion or molecule remaining after the acid has lost a proton, and the conjugate acid is the species created when the base accepts the proton. The reaction can proceed in either forward or backward direction; in each case, the acid donates a proton to the base.

Water is amphoteric and can act as an acid or as a base.

2H₂0  = H₃O⁺  and OH^- ( this is the auto-dissociation)

    OH⁻  is called the hydroxide anion; it bears a single negative charge largely residing on the more electronegative oxygen. H₃O⁺ is the hydroxonium ion)

{The neutral form of the hydroxyl group is a hydroxyl radical.}

AT NO POINT IN THE AUTO-DISSOCIATION OF WATER ARE SO-CALLED HYDROGEN IONS FORMED;NOR ARE HYDROXYL IONS

Do you work for NASA?  Apple? Or some sort of high tec industry?  All that went over my head. 

Scrivens, whilst I don't entirely understand the letter (chemistry was never my strongest subject), it is an impressive letter 
What did PFK say?