Marineland Aquatic plant LED fixture

[ShadowBeast]

Okay it's been almost a month since I bought Marineland Aquatic plant LED fixture 24" - 36" for my 38 gallon and so far light doesn't cover enough space (which the 36" - 48" should do) and what it does cover has grown some algae the timer is very helpful and can be programmed.
I'm gonna return and search for a low-med lighting.
But I would recommend this for those with either high tanks or those who are experienced with lighting and Co2.
I'm still a novice with lighting as well as plants and so a high light fixture is not for me at the moment.
So can anyone recommend a cheaper LED fixture good enough for Med lighting?

Two of the plants I'm trying to grow are a HC carpet and downoi.

[pafish]

Unfortunately, I can't answer your question but your experience helps me a bit because I was looking at the Marineland APLS for my 50 gal, 36"x18"x18". If the lights too narrow for your 38 gal, It'll be too narrow for my 50 gal 18" deep tank.

So, suggestions for a 36" medium light fixture would help me as well. So far, it seems all the LED fixtures I've found are either low light or high light.

Wondering if you could place electrical tape over some of the LEDs on a high light fixture to get down to medium light?

[ShadowBeast]

Originally Posted by pafish

Unfortunately, I can't answer your question but your experience helps me a bit because I was looking at the Marineland APLS for my 50 gal, 36"x18"x18". If the lights too narrow for your 38 gal, It'll be too narrow for my 50 gal 18" deep tank.

So, suggestions for a 36" medium light fixture would help me as well. So far, it seems all the LED fixtures I've found are either low light or high light.

Wondering if you could place electrical tape over some of the LEDs on a high light fixture to get down to medium light?

Yeah it seems the focus is always on high light or low light even the t5 flourescent bulbs are almost all high light.
electrical tape might work but I would check with someone who has more experience with LED fixtures.
I'm tempted to just DIY a LED fixture but I'm afraid to burn down the house.

[styxx]

Originally Posted by ShadowBeast

Okay it's been almost a month since I bought Marineland Aquatic plant LED fixture 24" - 36" for my 38 gallon and so far light doesn't cover enough space (which the 36" - 48" should do) and what it does cover has grown some algae the timer is very helpful and can be programmed.
I'm gonna return and search for a low-med lighting.
But I would recommend this for those with either high tanks or those who are experienced with lighting and Co2.
I'm still a novice with lighting as well as plants and so a high light fixture is not for me at the moment.
So can anyone recommend a cheaper LED fixture good enough for Med lighting?

Two of the plants I'm trying to grow are a HC carpet and downoi.

Yes, you're going to need CO2 to utilize that kind of lighting intensity. Also you could keep that fixture but substantially reduce the lighting duration to minimize algae growth. The fastest and easiest way to deal with it isn't to get rid of the fixture but to change these two factors and increase the CO2 concentrations in the water column. And of course high a high plant biomass to outcompete algae for the available nutrients. It's a balancing act that demands one to have some experience but it's easier to have higher light and reduce it than to have low light and expect to grow demanding plants...

[ShadowBeast]

Originally Posted by styxx

Yes, you're going to need CO2 to utilize that kind of lighting intensity. Also you could keep that fixture but substantially reduce the lighting duration to minimize algae growth. The fastest and easiest way to deal with it isn't to get rid of the fixture but to change these two factors and increase the CO2 concentrations in the water column. And of course high a high plant biomass to outcompete algae for the available nutrients. It's a balancing act that demands one to have some experience but it's easier to have higher light and reduce it than to have low light and expect to grow demanding plants...

The fixture was too small for the tank anyway, there was too many dark areas. But thanks for the advice anyway
I'm looking medium light so it'll be easier to grow plants and won't have too much trouble with algae.

[jasonevans]

I have a 32 gal 25x18x18...... I first bought the 18x24 inch that is the front, realized my mistake and ordered 2 of the longer 24 x 36.

So I now have three, I do not use the 24x38 on this tank, seems like overkill as I am trying to reduce the light intensity and time, 8 hours is what I am trying.

The built in timers are great with the exception of you cannot program them to go off and on but once in 24 hours. I would like to be able to program in a siesta during the day, but no can do.
Blue LEDS are on a separate built in timer, which is nice.

I do like the very slim profile compared to my T5 fixtures, but there are no brackets for hanging these fixtures, they sit directly on the tank.

I like the quality of light but well see how the plants respond, this is only the 3rd week and I have just started dry fertz a week ago, so nothing has been consistent for any length of time and about to do a serious trim and move some plants.

I wish I would have ordered one the ATI 24" 4x24 Dimmable SunPower w/ Controller, I should have researched just a bit more before I fell under the allure of glimmering Leds...lol now I realized I spent about the same on these Leds....

I could return them.......any feedback about the ATI SunPower with built in controller would be welcome, maybe in a new thread, I don't want to take this one off topic....

[D_Harris]

Hi. I've been viewing this board but just joined and this is my first post.
I've got a 37 gallon tank that I set up a few months ago and just had my 30" coralife lighting unit stop working. Unfortuantely my girlfriend bought me the tank because she knew I wanted one and thought i would be nice but was sold a bunch of junk (including 30" coralife light) with it.

I'm looking to replace it with an LED set up and thought the marineland plant light was interesting. Here's my question:
being that the 37 gallon is 30" long, will the beam from the 24"-36" light be wide enough to cover the bottom? I'm concerned that the light will be quite direct and leave me with a dark perimeter around the tank.

Any thoughts, observations, or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[jasonevans]

that 24"-36" unit is 24" long, it will be 3' to short on both sides. I just did the same thing, hated it, so if you do it, save the box so you can return it if you hate it.... you could plant shade loving plants around the edge...

[syzygy9]

I'm not familiar with the PAR rating of the MarineLand fixture you are currently using, but the new Finnex Fugeray fixture comes in a 30" width and is rated at 30 PAR @ 18" (a relatively common light to substrate distance for 30-50G tanks).

Here is a link to the PAR data for the different fixture sizes.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=183246

[D_Harris]

Originally Posted by jasonevans

that 24"-36" unit is 24" long, it will be 3' to short on both sides. I just did the same thing, hated it, so if you do it, save the box so you can return it if you hate it.... you could plant shade loving plants around the edge...

That's what I'm afraid of. It seems so appealing as I could actually try some high light plants but I really don't want something so short.

[D_Harris]

Originally Posted by syzygy9

I'm not familiar with the PAR rating of the MarineLand fixture you are currently using, but the new Finnex Fugeray fixture comes in a 30" width and is rated at 30 PAR @ 18" (a relatively common light to substrate distance for 30-50G tanks).

Here is a link to the PAR data for the different fixture sizes.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=183246

I believe the 37 gallon is 24" deep which would give me 17par at the bottom with the 30" light. I don't think thats going to be enough. I appreciate the recommendation though.