Aquarium lights - Most Important Things for freshwater aquarium setup

What type of light do you want? tube, cfl, led. Which color do you want? pink, blue, green, white. You can choose from wide varieties available in the market if you need one but have you wondered why you need light in an aquarium? If you have access to the natural light from the sun then it's good but then you will have more work to do because of high algae growth in your aquarium because of sunlight and it also brings sudden change in temperature which is more likely to kill or affect your fishes. It's not like your fish can't survive in an aquarium without artificial lights because in the wild there is no one who will go to the river and lakes to lit a light for fishes and it is not compulsory to have unless  you have live plants in your aquarium when  it's a must to add a light.  Now you may be wondering why do I have to keep light in my aquarium? Here are some reasons

1. Your aquarium looks better and it looks pleasing to the eyes if you add a light.
2. Light helps in bringing vivid color in your fishes.
3. Proper growth of plants is only possible if you have light in the aquarium.

There are also few disadvantages of aquarium lights

1. Chances of high growth of algae.
2. If not chosen the correct type of light, there will be sudden change in temperature in aquarium due to heat produced by some types of lights.

Most people say that you have to put aquarium lights on for 10-12 hours a day in planted aquarium whereas 6 hours of light is sufficient for fish. It's a matter of personal choice to put light in the aquarium if you only have fish , since it's for the viewer and not the fish. Hence you can turn on the lights when you like in fish only aquarium and turn it off at night because certain researches have shown that fish do sleep at night and you don't wanna disturb your pretty little pets. 

Thanks for reading :D Comments, Questions and Suggestions are always warmly welcomed.