LED Lighting Compendium

[madness]

Originally Posted by burtonman

Did anyone ever explain why I'd want a marineland reef capable light a foot off the top of the tank? Is it too bright?

That is exactly the reason.

50mmol seems to be a good target at the low end of the 'enough light to grow anything' range and any extra light intensity beyond that is just going to go towards increasing the speed of plant growth (and probably also the growth speed of algae unless you have CO2 and ferts perfectly balanced to the amount of light).

The Marineland Reef Capable light is over 100mmol in most common tank sizes and way more than that in shorter tanks.

[madness]

Any true and high quality reef lighting system is likely to be significantly overpowered for planted tank applications (not to mention perhaps not being the correct light spectrum).

Doesn't mean that they can't be used but just that you need to do some research first to figure out how to adapt them to planted tank use without causing an algae farm.

[burtonman]

Great. Thanks for the reply!

[samamorgan]

Originally Posted by madness

Any true and high quality reef lighting system is likely to be significantly overpowered for planted tank applications (not to mention perhaps not being the correct light spectrum).

Doesn't mean that they can't be used but just that you need to do some research first to figure out how to adapt them to planted tank use without causing an algae farm.

It's actually not so much a spectrum for plants problem, it's more of a spectrum for viewing problem. Marine tanks look amazing under very blue light, brings out those great flourescent colors in the coral. Planted tanks look stellar under very crisp white light, making those greens vibrant.

[BillU]

I have a quarter cylinder 50 gal tank. I need a new light fixture and want to consider a led. With all of the information i am a little lost as the info is quite extense. the Tank measures 21" deep and is 24" along each flat side. Here is a pic of the tank with a 18" light over it. Could you recommend a couple LED light fixtures - i have pressurized CO2

thanks in advance.

[akpoly]

I borrowed a par meter from SCAPE and posted my results there.

But I thought other people might be interested as well..

All measurements were taken directly perpendicular to the light. Some measurements went beyond the par meter so nothing accurate can be given. >2,000

I took some measurements of the following:
TrueLumen 24" Pro LED 8k and 12k
AI Nano Sol
Super Bright LED LBFA Luxbar 6"
Fluval Edge stock MR11
13W CFL w/ reflector
8W T5 (from a kit aquarium, probably old bulb)

First up is the Truelumen 24" Pro LED strips
..........8K..........12k.........Both
@1"....350.........450..........487
@6"....110.........110.........185
@12"....55..........56..........100

AI Nano Sol @ 100%
.........White.......Blue.........Royal......All
@1"....1,967......>2,000......1,880......>2,000
@6"....235.........258..........315.........836
@12"...70...........66...........106.........244

Super Bright LED LBFA Luxbar 6"
@1"....80
@6"....21
@12"...6

Fluval Edge stock MR11 halogen
@1"....1,500
@6"....99
@12"...26

13W CFL w/ reflector
@1"....512
@6"....52
@12"...14

T5 8W
@1".....96
@6".....15

[exv152]

Any thoughts on the new Marineland Aquatic Plant LED set to come out this spring??? Here are some of their posted specs...

PAR/LUX at 12", 172/10530
PAR/LUX at 24", 83/4810

http://www.marineland.com/sites/mari...l.aspx?id=4653

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by exv152

Any thoughts on the new Marineland Aquatic Plant LED set to come out this spring??? Here are some of their posted specs...

PAR/LUX at 12", 172/10530
PAR/LUX at 24", 83/4810

http://www.marineland.com/sites/mari...l.aspx?id=4653

I hope it is designed for easy hanging. Most tanks are 24 inches or less high, so to get that 83 micromols of PAR down to a much better 40 micromols, it would need to be as much as 16 inches above the top of the tank. (However, I suspect just using a shorter light, and hanging it a few inches above the tank, would work fine.) And, I wish it included a way of adjusting the RGB LED output.

[madness]

That light definitely won't come up short in PAR.

If it falls inbetween the double bright and the reef version in pricing it might be a useful/popular option.

[monkeyfish]

Integrated digital timer with separate white and blue light controls, I like that. At 24" height and 6" from center par drops to 43, here's a link with par and spread data: http://www.marineland.com/uploadedFi...ManualQSUG.pdf

[hedge_fund]

Originally Posted by samamorgan

Glad this helped you out! When it comes to your light needs, you cant carpet HC without at least medium/high light. If i remember correctly, your tank is 24"x13"x17". At that depth and width, i think two 24" stunner strips would give you medium/high light and get you on your way to a good carpet. You'd better be running Co2 though.

http://www.ecoxotic.com/aquarium-led...s-12-watt.html Get the 8000k white ones. The initial cost is going to be a bit, so you might be able to just start with one strip for now, and upgrade when you've got the money. $80 for one 24" strip, $16 for a power transformer, and 2 x $7 for two reflectors (not required, but recommended). $96 without reflectors for one, $110 for one with reflectors, $204 for two with reflectors.

If you take the HC out of the equation you can probably get away with just one, and add another when you go to 55, since it's 48" long instead of 24". These stunner strips are probably your best option for modularity, since you plan on upgrading. Or a couple panorama fixtures, they cover a little more area. Thats a higher cost though.

A second option would be: go down to IKEA and get a light fixture you wouldnt mind hanging above your tank and are big enough for spotlight bulbs, and get a couple of the WingoLED PAR38 bulbs, they screw into a standard E26/27 bulb socket. I have no idea what these cost, but it's worth looking into, and you could make it match your home decor.

That's actually a really nice set up...i can't seem to find their mounting brackets that they show in the video.

[samamorgan]

Originally Posted by hedge_fund

That's actually a really nice set up...i can't seem to find their mounting brackets that they show in the video.

Mounting brackets? AFAIK they just stick on with 3M tape, or there are two screw holes to put them inside a wood hood. I did notice some sort of aquarium edge holders though in the video i've never seen before, are those the ones you're talking about?

[hedge_fund]

Originally Posted by samamorgan

Mounting brackets? AFAIK they just stick on with 3M tape, or there are two screw holes to put them inside a wood hood. I did notice some sort of aquarium edge holders though in the video i've never seen before, are those the ones you're talking about?

Yup, exactly. I don't have anything to mount these to so I don't know how I would even proceed. Hence why the edge holders spiked my interest. Unless there is some other way install these without me being aware of...

[IndyMatt]

I am a novice to planted aquariums and my plants are not doing well at all. My tank is 36x12x18. I have 3" of EcoComplete substrate. I have been doing regular water changes and using tablet and liquid fertilizers. I am using a 36" TrueLumen 12,000k Diamond white LED light 3" above the water. Is my lighting the problem?

[samamorgan]

Originally Posted by IndyMatt

I am a novice to planted aquariums and my plants are not doing well at all. My tank is 36x12x18. I have 3" of EcoComplete substrate. I have been doing regular water changes and using tablet and liquid fertilizers. I am using a 36" TrueLumen 12,000k Diamond white LED light 3" above the water. Is my lighting the problem?

Nope. You need to add Co2 and probably go dry ferts, it's hard to get a good balance with liquids.