Feit Par30 LED

[Wizzy]

I already own this.

http://www.amazon.com/Feit-Electric-.../dp/B002Q8H99O

5 High- powered LEDs 490 Lumens 3000-3200 Kelvin

And I was wondering if this would grow plants of any kind?

The Kelvin ratings pretty low and the Lumens aren't that great, so I assume the answer will be no or low light plants.

Thoughts?

[somewhatshocked]

You want a fixture that produces lighting that's at least 6500K in color temperature.

[i4x4nMore]

Originally Posted by somewhatshocked

You want a fixture that produces lighting that's at least 6500K in color temperature.

This is not true. 2300K, 3200K, 4100K, 5000K, 6500K, 7500K, 8000K, 10000K... I've grown lush plants with all of them. All you need is enough of the kind of light you are providing.

My personal preference is 4100K, smooth spectrum.

I'm not sure why this 6500K "rule" keeps being passed around. I'm guessing it's marketing.

Cheers,

[Wizzy]

Originally Posted by somewhatshocked

You want a fixture that produces lighting that's at least 6500K in color temperature.

I agree that higher kelvin would probably be better and more appealing to the eye.

Originally Posted by i4x4nMore

This is not true. 2300K, 3200K, 4100K, 5000K, 6500K, 7500K, 8000K, 10000K... I've grown lush plants with all of them. All you need is enough of the kind of light you are providing.

My personal preference is 4100K, smooth spectrum.

I'm not sure why this 6500K "rule" keeps being passed around. I'm guessing it's marketing.

Cheers,

I agree with you too. The light just looks very orange.

And then the real question is whether the par30 I own is enough light?

[Wizzy]

Here's another idea...

http://www.amazon.com/Sunpark-PAR38-.../dp/B002BL2TAK

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by Wizzy

And then the real question is whether the par30 I own is enough light?

If you try to light a 6 foot long tank with it, it won't work well. If you try to light a 2 gallon nano tank it probably won't work well. What are you trying to light with it?

[Wizzy]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

If you try to light a 6 foot long tank with it, it won't work well. If you try to light a 2 gallon nano tank it probably won't work well. What are you trying to light with it?

Not really anything in particular...

I just happen to own it already and was wondering if it would be of any use in ANY application

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by Wizzy

Not really anything in particular...

I just happen to own it already and was wondering if it would be of any use in ANY application

There almost has to be a tank of some size somewhere that this would be a good light for. Not knowing how much light it puts out and how much the light spreads out, I have no idea what that tank would be.

[somewhatshocked]

I neither say it was a rule, nor that plants couldn't be grown with lighting of another color temperature.

6500 = pretty nice, average, appealing to the eye. People recommend lighting in the 6500k range purely because it appears fairly natural to the naked eye in a tank.

When someone is new to lighting, most people in this hobby try to steer them toward something that looks a lot like natural daylight. As the OP said, their light looks orange/yellow.

Originally Posted by i4x4nMore

This is not true. 2300K, 3200K, 4100K, 5000K, 6500K, 7500K, 8000K, 10000K... I've grown lush plants with all of them. All you need is enough of the kind of light you are providing.

My personal preference is 4100K, smooth spectrum.

I'm not sure why this 6500K "rule" keeps being passed around. I'm guessing it's marketing.

Cheers,

[Wizzy]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

There almost has to be a tank of some size somewhere that this would be a good light for. Not knowing how much light it puts out and how much the light spreads out, I have no idea what that tank would be.

I'll try and get some pictures posted of the light in action.

Originally Posted by somewhatshocked

I neither say it was a rule, nor that plants couldn't be grown with lighting of another color temperature.

6500 = pretty nice, average, appealing to the eye. People recommend lighting in the 6500k range purely because it appears fairly natural to the naked eye in a tank.

When someone is new to lighting, most people in this hobby try to steer them toward something that looks a lot like natural daylight. As the OP said, their light looks orange/yellow.

Agreed

[polukoff]

$35 is a lot of money for less than 500 lumens.

[dbosman@msu.edu]

Originally Posted by polukoff

$35 is a lot of money for less than 500 lumens.

Just my $2.00 worth. <-- inflation, of course.
Lumens and lux are measurements that are appropriate for human eyes.
500 lumens may work really well in some situations. Add in energy savings and not having to replace the lamp every year or two, could easily make $35. a bargain.

Given my personal experience with LED lamps in our house, It's my opinion that current industry specs are not comparable or perhaps compatible with what "we" have used for incandescent and fluorescent lighting solutions.

[Li@m]

You can always use G24 LED Downlights, one G24 would work perfectly for you the bulbs cost about 13USD.

This link is the instructions:
http://translate.google.com/translat...ngpair=es%7Cen

Here is where I got mine from:
http://www.miniinthebox.com/g24-5050...w_p312815.html

Here is a 15 Gallon thank with two G24s on it:

[Wizzy]

Originally Posted by polukoff

$35 is a lot of money for less than 500 lumens.

Yes, it is, but since I already have the bulb I'm just going to do my best to find an application for it.

Originally Posted by dbosman@msu.edu

Just my $2.00 worth. <-- inflation, of course.
Lumens and lux are measurements that are appropriate for human eyes.
500 lumens may work really well in some situations. Add in energy savings and not having to replace the lamp every year or two, could easily make $35. a bargain.

Given my personal experience with LED lamps in our house, It's my opinion that current industry specs are not comparable or perhaps compatible with what "we" have used for incandescent and fluorescent lighting solutions.

Yes, agreed.

And I actually found out that the bulb puts out 650 lumens, but still that doesn't make the greatest of differences.

Originally Posted by Li@m

You can always use G24 LED Downlights, one G24 would work perfectly for you the bulbs cost about 13USD.

This link is the instructions:
http://translate.google.com/translat...ngpair=es%7Cen

Here is where I got mine from:
http://www.miniinthebox.com/g24-5050...w_p312815.html

Here is a 15 Gallon thank with two G24s on it:

That seems like a great solution.

The only part I'm confused on is how you attach the bulb to the wires.

What part is used to connect the wires and bulb together?

Seems like an awesome LED.
------

I've decided to experiment with my light and have placed it over a saltwater picotope (same as my freshwater pico).

If I see any noticeable growth of algae then I may switch it to my planted pico.

[Wizzy]

I wanted to update...

I'm getting good growth from Caulerpa and I added some Chaeto to my pico as well and it looks pretty good so far.

I'm impressed that the bulb can grow anything lol.

I suspect that I may be able to even grow some low light corals with this thing.

If I ever take down the saltwater pico I think this could grow at least medium light plants... but then again I could be wrong >.<

If I find out anything else I'll update the thread again since I think I'll only be able to find my answers through experimentation.