[laughmaster]

Hello all. First time poster and I have a project I am trying to figure out. I have a standard 55 gallon tank and want to redo the lights. The tank is kind of a standard walmart or petsmart combo. With the flat hood with a few LED lights under each half. I have seen people use this product [Ebay Link Removed] RGB Cool White RGBW Waterproof 16 4ft 5050 300 LEDs Strip Light | eBay[/url] in several different ways to make LED lights for tanks and was wondering if it would be any good for planted tanks. Was thinking maybe buy 2 strips or at least 2 controllers so I could have one strip of all white while the other strip was on red and blue, in an attempt to get full spectrum lighting. As you can probably tell I am pretty new to aquarium lighting. Just playing with some ideas and looking for advice.

Oh and I just figured I would cut the strips to size and superglue or hotglue them to the underside of my hood I have already. On a very tight budget so trying to do a lighting upgrade for as cheep as possible.

 

[plantetra]

I had one of those strips on my 10G initially.

This is an example that might help you decide. Initially I had the walmart hood with 6LEDs but it didnt do anything for plants. I spent around ~ $30 getting the strip you have mentioned all together. It had a remote too. I used it for 3 months and the LEDs started fading. I did not hot glue it luckily. So changed out the strip and made it work for a few more months before it faded again. Then I realized that it is of no use. So switched to floramax T8. It worked wonders for a while before it was time to replace. I think I spent around $30 for hood and fixture. But after a year or so I realized, I had spent around 70$ trying to find a good light and a good LED light for 10G was available for the same amount. Finally I bought a Planted 24/7. It is really good. But if you are on a tighter budget, you are better off with T8 or T5HO lamps rather than the led strips.

 

[Maryland Guppy]

I am using the similar 5050 LED's on a 20 gallon long.
2 rows the length of the tank but this is a shallow tank.
It grows plenty of low-med light plants rather well.


No experience with these in a 55, much deeper tank.


My solution for my 55 was a 4' LED tube light.
About $38 and no need for a driver or ballast.
It is only 5000K though I could not find one @ 6500K.
I like the higher kelvin rating on the 6500K, tank appears brighter.

Bump:

I had one of those strips on my 10G initially.

This is an example that might help you decide. Initially I had the walmart hood with 6LEDs but it didnt do anything for plants. I spent around ~ $30 getting the strip you have mentioned all together. It had a remote too. I used it for 3 months and the LEDs started fading. I did not hot glue it luckily. So changed out the strip and made it work for a few more months before it faded again.

Also experienced this fading on another tank.
Cause was the power supply for me.
Voltage was too high, supply stated 12VDC and when tested with a meter it was actually 13.2VDC.
This caused the LED strip to get dimmer over time and also seemed to alter the kelvin appearance.

 

[jeffkrol]

Tight budget light:
LED Aquarium Lighting Freshwater Bright

 

[Maryland Guppy]

I may buy one of those, the price is right for my no-tech 55.