Which of the following lamps is suitable for aquarium lighting: metal halide lamp, fluorescent lamp or LED lamp?

Each lamp has its own features. You can choose one according to the aquarium tank size or your preferred style. An advantage of metal halide lamp used for Solar I is high light intensity which can adequately illuminate even large and deep aquarium tanks. Fluorescent lamps such as NA Lamp Twin 36W have excellent color rendering properties and offer good light dispersion in water. LED lamp features excellent luminous efficiency (energy-saving effect) and its compact size. LED lamp is suitable for 60cm or smaller aquariums as its cost will be high if the lamp has many LED diodes. At the current moment, the color rendering properties of LED lamp fall short of those of metal halide and fluorescent lamps. ADA Solar I and Solar II are recommended even for 60cm tanks if you want to enjoy vivid colors of fish and aquatic plants.

NAG

NAG using metal halide lamp brings out vivid green color of aquatic plants. On the other hand, red color may look a little dull.

NA

NA Lamp Twin, a twin fluorescent lamp, features excellent color rendering properties and offers the natural red and green colors of aquatic plants.

LED

LED lamps used on ADA AQUASKY are yellowish in color. They provide sufficient light intensity for healthy growth of aquatic plants.

What is the best combination of filter media?

The combination of filter medias varies depending on the condition of the aquarium and elapsed time since the initial setup. Aquarium water easily becomes dirty particularly in the initial stage of the aquarium. In this period, the filter media which physically and chemically remove contaminants should be used. This is why ADA Super Jet Filter ES-150, ES- 300 and ES-600, the popular filters among aquarium beginners, come with anthracite and ADA Bio Cube. However, anthracite will eventually cause clogging when they are used for a long period of time. To avoid this problem, it is advised to replace anthracite with ADA Bio Rio approximately one month after the setup of the aquarium when ADA Bio Cube has been colonized with beneficial bacteria and biological filtration starts to fully function. When another one month has passed and ADA Bio Rio has already been colonized with bacteria, ADA Bio Cube should be replaced with ADA Bio Rio so that ADA Bio Rio will be the only filter medium used. Doing this prevents clogging problems and leads to long-term stable filtration.

Intensive filtering

Anthrazit | ADA Bio Cube
Fine grains of anthracite are effective to remove organic compounds and other contaminates during the initial stage of the aquarium.

Long-term stable filtration 1

ADA NA-Carbon | ADA Bio Rio
Set ADA NA-Carbon on top of ADA Bio Rio to reduce yellow water caused by driftwood.

Long-term stable filtration 2

ADA Bio Rio | ADA Bamboo Charcoal
ADA Bamboo Charcoal also has the effect of creating an uniform water flow within the filter.

What are the differences between CO2 Advanced System and CO2 Starter Kit?

Besides the glassware used, the differences between ADA Advanced CO2 System and CO2 Starter Kit include expandability and the compatible CO2 cartridge. ADA Advanced CO2 System uses the ADA Tropical Forest CO2 bottle containing 74g of CO2. ADA Tropical Forest CO2 bottle has three additional features of deodorization, fragrance and sterilization to reduce the odor of aquarium. ADA Advanced CO2 System can also be connected to the ADA CO2 Tower (CO2 system for large aquarium tank) by adding a ADA CO2 Adapter. On the other hand, CO2 Starter Kit is compatible only with a CO2 Bottle containing 35g of CO2. The CO2 Starter Kit is recommended to those who seek a simple CO2 system for a small aquarium while ADA Advanced CO2 System is recommended to the hobbyists who are going to make a fullscale planted aquarium in a 60cm tank

The ADA Advanced CO2 System contains out of ADA Pollen Glass and an ADA Bubble Counter

ADA Advanced CO2 System comes with a standard ADA Pollen Glass and ADA Bubble Counter.
CO2 Starter Kit comes with a CO2 diffuser having a built-in counter. *CO2 Starter Kit is available only in Japanese market.

Source and Copyright of the article/photos - Aqua Design Amano - ADA