This will depend on the types of plants you get for your aquarium. Some aquatic plants need a lot of light to grow well but others will only need a little. This is why it’s a good idea to do research on which types of plants you should get for your aquarium depending on the water type as well as the kind of fish you plan on having within the environment. When deciding on how much light you need, you need to take into consideration not only the type of plants you have but also the size of your aquarium so that the lighting can be evenly distributed throughout the tank.
When researching various aquatic plants, you can simply look up a list of beginner live aquatic plants for freshwater or saltwater setups, depending on what you have. It’s a good idea to start with simple plants that are easy to grow and don’t require a lot of maintenance until you have a better idea of how to take care of your plants with the proper lighting and you understand the terms that go along with choosing the right lighting for your aquarium as a whole.