an other LED light question

You would want to use 1 of them every 10-12" or so, if I had to guess.

They definitely can work, but I have not tested the PAR on this particular LED to say with any certainty.


Give us some more info on your tank---- the width and length especially.

FWIW I have grown dwarf sag under some fairly low light conditions as long as nutrient levels are adequate (in the sweet spot--- neither high or low).

my tank is 180g 6x2x2, if it would work then I'm thinking of getting 6 of them and lay them out on the glass top. plants will mostly be java fern, anubais, dwarf sag, maybe some moss and some floating plants.

That would cost you $180 plus shipping, and might not work. You would do better to look at T5 options. I hope you do try this though, just to find out if they will work for an aquarium.

It looks like a better option than this one from Home Depot but for about the same price and it's whiter light at 6000K. If you try it please let us know how it works.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

jp80911 said:

my tank is 180g 6x2x2, if it would work then I'm thinking of getting 6 of them and lay them out on the glass top. plants will mostly be java fern, anubais, dwarf sag, maybe some moss and some floating plants.

Click to expand...

if you're trying to save money(electricity), i would say go for it... but if you're not, you might want to look into fishneedit.com's metal halide set ups...

here's one I found on ebay, using three e27 PAR38 24w LEDs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y6AkD-EF8I

I think it looks pretty good.

That's a nice tank in that link jp.


But the pic of the 75g (which is also an nice tank) has some serious spotlighting issues. It's obviously getting the job done (assuming that these plants have been under these LEDs for a while). But the super-bright light in those two spots means you need to plant your tank accordingly, because directly under those lamps, you're cooking plants, and to the sides, you're starving them.

Raising those lights about 4-8" will help disburse the light but it reduces PAR directly under them. '


I'd have to have a PAR meter in hand before I was comfortable using only 2 over a 75g long term.

It's a flip chip LED, that's the only information I managed to find out from the seller.
I also found some PAR38 LED using 12x2W (also a 12x3W) Cree LEDs (similar to the ones used in the link I posted), each is going for around $80-$90 with 50,000hrs life span.
from the looks of that link those LEDs work great.
I wonder if anyone with PAR meter is willing to invest a little to get one of those LED to test it out. If it gets the job done then we have more options on the LED.

Here're the links to 24W and 36W PAR38 CREE LEDs
http://www.shop.prioritylighting.com/24-Watt-High-Output-PAR38-LED-Dimmable-ELED-LSPAR38-24-CW.htm
http://www.shop.prioritylighting.com/36-Watt-High-Output-PAR38-LED-Dimmable-ELED-LSPAR38HO.htm
They are dimmable so if can somehow set them up on some sort of controller you can have the effect from sun rise to sun set.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-lighting/eaglelight-par38-led-bulb-hits-1200-lumens-76957.html
Yeah, Im a reefer, but these will work for what you want as well.

The 'evil' LED's here will work as well...
http://www.nanotuners.com/index.php?cPath=74&osCsid=t8kqe1k0qsapnkohftdch85io3

http://reefbuilders.com/2010/08/20/boostled-offering-discount-generation-par30-led-reef-lamps/

http://www.boostled.com/products/par30-reef-lamps
^pick the white one

I was thinking about trying these PAR38's on my 150 (72x18x30) in a custom hanging fixture....any thoughts? maybe 4 of them suspended 10" above the tank? worred about spotting and algae. Going low tech, low light plants.