Marine Aquarium Lighting

One of the most important components of a thriving reef tank is proper lighting.  While there are many types of lights available on the market today, LED lights are by far the most popular and are hands down the best option for a Reef Casa aquarium.  It is important to think of lighting as the life support for your corals, since the vast majority of corals available in the reefing hobby  are photosynthetic, meaning they use light to meet their energy needs.  This means that the lighting spectrum (the blend of colours) that you choose needs to be both aesthetically pleasing but also appropriate for coral health and growth.

It also means that once you set your lights it is important not to make too many adjustments.  A good rule of thumb is to “set it and forget it.”  Generally, corals use lighting on the violet and blue spectrum for their energy needs, while white is added to help bring out the colours of the corals and fish.  The other two terms commonly associated with reef tank lighting are spread and intensity.  Spread refers to the distribution of light over the tank and intensity is the amount of light at various depths in the tank.  Intensity is measured in PAR (Photosynthetically active radiation).  Different corals prefer different levels of PAR with some SPS corals preferring PAR between 250 and 300 and some mushrooms needing as little as 50 PAR.  This means that SPS corals are generally placed higher in the tank as par levels are reduced in lower areas of the tank.  PAR levels are also lower in areas not directly under the light source, such as the sides of the tank or under overhangs.  While all of these terms may sound overwhelming, here at Reef Casa we offer a simple to use, effective and budget friendly lighting option that pairs well with all of our aquariums, the Beam & Halo LED Light.

The Reef Casa Beam & Halo LED light makes the perfect choice for our all in one aquariums.

The Halo unit’s spread can effectively cover an 18” by 18” square, which is great  for our tanks.  It will create PAR levels of roughly 100 12” beneath the surface and can effectively grow SPS corals, LPS corals  and soft corals like mushrooms and zoas.  Its 120 degree lens minimizes hot spots and helps spread the PAR levels evenly throughout the tank.  Best of all, the Halo takes all of the guesswork and trial and error out of programming LED lights by offering a built in timer, full spectrum LEDs and a dimmer to mimic sunrise and sunset.  This light can literally be set up and running on your tank within 5 minutes.  This ease of setup also reduces the temptation to make ongoing adjustments to the lighting, a common mistake among new reefers, which can stress corals.  Other benefits of the Halo LED light are an included flexible mounting arm with integrated cord management to keep your tank looking clean and organized.  Its ultra quiet fan also ensures that the light stays cool without any distracting noise.

While we recommend the Reef Casa Halo light for our tanks there are many other lights available with more customization options available, albeit at  much higher price points.  Here at Reef Casa we want everyone to love their new reef tank so please feel free to contact us with any questions about lighting or our aquariums in general.  Happy reefing!