Pre-manufactured plastic hoods with a single or double fluorescent tubes, such as offered by Marina Aquarium Hood by Hagen and others, are ready-made packages that are easiest to install and maintain. You have no options here. Buy it, set it on the tank rim and turn it on. The quality of the actual tube is generally geared for freshwater guppies and goldfish, rather than marine fish. Not to worry though, as there are essentially no differences other than color enhancement for the viewer.
If you are amongst the majority of first-time aquarists, you will most likely choose a package or light hood that is recommended by your local fish shop. These packages normally consist of the one-piece plastic hood with the light fixture already installed. The ease and convenience of these light hoods are very attractive to the beginner as they require no specialized knowledge other than where to plug them in! By simply installing these hoods on the tank, we have accomplished and eliminated all the worry and frustration over what to do about illumination. This frees the aquarist to concentrate on the learning of other basics that ultimately result in long-term success in their new hobby. These hoods use a "can" electro-static energizer to get the bulb glowing and are easily replaced when they eventually go bad. Plastic hoods, while not cheap, certainly provide all the fundamental requirements needed for the first time fish-only aquarist or long-term fish-keeper.
Fluorescent tubes provide varying degrees of color enhancement to the fish, that results in the gorgeous splash of vibrant colors that attract most new folks to the hobby. The basic wattages in standard "stock" tubes here vary from 15 watts to 40 watts output power. Newbies will soon learn that tube length generally equates to tube wattages, although we shall see how this can differ as we progress. For those wanting a small system up to 55 gallons, and have no intention beyond fish-keeping, these plastic hoods with their Standard "stock" or NO fluorescent tubes do a fine job and provide many years of reliable service. NO (Normal Ouput) fluorescent tubes like the Vita-Lite feature a color temperature around 5500K and come with a stated useful lifespan of approximately 20,000 hours of illumination. They also have a two-year warranty that make this choice ideal for the fish-only set up. The beauty here is that these NO tubes are quite reasonable in price and the experimentation process can be fun and stay well within a reasonable budget. However, they will not be able to accommodate nor support any photosynthetic animals, or provide the output intensity required for other extremely light hungry marine denizens.
What is to be expected and what is to be accomplished by these hoods is simple and straightforward. Basic illumination and the simulation of the day-night cycle as found in Nature. By replacing the stock tube that comes with these pre-manufactured light hoods, one can influence the coloration of the fishes and other aspects of the aquarium’s environment.
So, what if you do decide you want to keep some reef life in the future?
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A Fish-Only Light Hood for Advancement Into Some Reef Life in the Future
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