LEDs for long low tank ?

809 Views 5 Replies 2 Participants Last post by jeffkrol, May 1, 2014

Ghia

Discussion Starter · May 1, 2014

Hi everyone,
I've been a visitor here for years and benefited from the massive ammount of collected knowledge on these forums. Now, I need some help with my latest project...my first venture into LED lighting.

I have a custom tank on order, meant mainly for my corys. It measures 48"L x 18"W x 14"H and has a glass cover. I'm hoping to grow at least some medium plants. I want to go with LEDs this time. But since this tank is so low, I'm at a loss what to do. Even with CO2, this could be a potential algae heaven.

My initial thought was 48" Finnex RayII 2x7000K. But looking at PAR values, this could be too much of a good thing, even with CO2 and glass in between...? I could of course hang the unit to reduce the PAR values, but would a FugeRay be better ?

Another (not-so-attractive) option would be an array of clip-on lamps, but which ones and how many ?

Any input much appreciated

Save

1 - 6 of 6 Posts

jeffkrol

· #2 · May 1, 2014 (Edited)

Ghia said:
Hi everyone,
I've been a visitor here for years and benefited from the massive ammount of collected knowledge on these forums. Now, I need some help with my latest project...my first venture into LED lighting.

I have a custom tank on order, meant mainly for my corys. It measures 48"L x 18"W x 14"H and has a glass cover. I'm hoping to grow at least some medium plants. I want to go with LEDs this time. But since this tank is so low, I'm at a loss what to do. Even with CO2, this could be a potential algae heaven.

My initial thought was 48" Finnex RayII 2x7000K. But looking at PAR values, this could be too much of a good thing, even with CO2 and glass in between...? I could of course hang the unit to reduce the PAR values, but would a FugeRay be better ?

Another (not-so-attractive) option would be an array of clip-on lamps, but which ones and how many ?

Any input much appreciated

to be honest.. IF you were going 2- Ray2's I'd just get 1-BML in a color of your choice.. Why?.. Dimmable..

what you need to decide as well is "do you prefer to have them on top or hang".. what is more aesthetically pleasing.. That will define the "type" and optics.
Then do you want it static or dynamic i.e dimming, fade in ect.
Then the color temp you prefer. Do you want to feature a tone
Then the price you want to pay..

Then you are done..

I "believe" most LED's in that size range will give you low/med to high light..
at least if you guarantee full coverage..

Which is why I'm suggesting things seemingly "backwards"........but like clip on lamps.. more of a style choice..

A 48" BML @$325 plus "stuff" is not cheap.. but I guarantee you won't "grow" out of it..

a single Fugeray "planted plus" would really [email protected] $140.. or 2... Sorry I've got a "thing" for 660nm.......

I have a feeling "market demands" will start cutting out the "static" LEDS (well there always will be a price point ).. because really, it is only marginally different than t5's at a small premium price.. YMMV...

See less See more

Save

Ghia

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 1, 2014

jeffkrol said:
to be honest.. IF you were going 2- Ray2's I'd just get 1-BML in a color of your choice.. Why?.. Dimmable..

I don't get what you mean here...what is 1-BML ?

jeffkrol said:
what you need to decide as well is "do you prefer to have them on top or hang".. what is more aesthetically pleasing.. That will define the "type" and optics.
Then do you want it static or dynamic i.e dimming, fade in ect.
Then the color temp you prefer. Do you want to feature a tone
Then the price you want to pay..

I prefer to have them on top, of course...but I'll hang them if I HAVE to.
Dimming is of lesser importance me, so static is okay.
This is a freshwater tank, I want a color temp of about 7000K. Tone is less important, as long as it will grow plants. And I do fine without moonlights and other bling.
Regarding price, I'll pay what it costs within limits, say $300. To even get a Finnex (or any unit for that matter) to my door, I'll have to suffer expensive overseas shipping and 25%VAT in addition.

jeffkrol said:
I "believe" most LED's in that size range will give you low/med to high light..
at least if you guarantee full coverage..

Well, "believe" is a key word...this is why I'm asking here

I want to grow plants, not algae... And the Finnex units seem to be both good AND reasonably priced, so I used them as a starting point. I'm open to other suggestions !

Save

jeffkrol

· #4 · May 1, 2014

buildmyled.. sorry not sure about "overseas" shipping costs ect..

algae and plants share requirements.. they are not mutually exclusive..
What grows one grows another..

sure each has a "niche" competitive advantage.. but that is less light related than environmental.. Cutting down light to control algae also slows plants. Not a bad thing but there are other factors involved.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?articleid=714

I'm sure UK suppliers have something equiv to a Finnex..

Save

Ghia

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 1, 2014

jeffkrol said:
algae and plants share requirements.. they are not mutually exclusive..
What grows one grows another..

I'm sure UK suppliers have something equiv to a Finnex..

That is true, what grows plants can/may also grow algae. The whole idea is to give the plants the advantage, i.e. provide an optimal balance of light and nutrients for them to outcompete the algae. But at some point, more light and nutrients will hand the advantage back to the algae just the same as too little light/nutrients.

Well, maybe I can find something in the UK. Mostly they don't ship to Scandinavia, though.

Save

jeffkrol

· #6 · May 1, 2014

Ghia said:
That is true, what grows plants can/may also grow algae. The whole idea is to give the plants the advantage, i.e. provide an optimal balance of light and nutrients for them to outcompete the algae. But at some point, more light and nutrients will hand the advantage back to the algae just the same as too little light/nutrients.

One of the reasons
I champion for dimmable lights.........

Easiest parameter to control.

Save

1 - 6 of 6 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month