[Nlewis]

As the title says, I'm looking for recommendations for upgrading my lighting. Attached below is a picture of my 40B and as you can see it's doing pretty well IMO. I'm currently running 2 Beamswork fixtures and they've done their job well but I want to bring the reds out of my stem plants. So, what do you all think?

Thanks

Edit: sorry for the poor picture, iPads have horrible cameras

 

[MCSLABS]

Only choice is to either add a red spectrum light or filter down what you have (remove other colors) with a filter of specific nm

Here is a website for thought:

LEE Technical Lighting Filters - Daylight, Tungsten and Fluorescent Conversion

 

[Nlewis]

Yes I know, but what fixtures would be viable options to obtain what I'm looking for? The 2 that come to mind are the planted plus and the new fluval.

 

[jeffkrol]

Yes I know, but what fixtures would be viable options to obtain what I'm looking for? The 2 that come to mind are the planted plus and the new fluval.

Both "work" but simplier and cheaper would be a Finnex stingray..

A fairly simple DIY if you have the 3W type is to change out some of the LEDs to warm white..

MOD - Rework on a Beamswork LED from 10K to 6.5K

Handful of warm white "Bridgelux" diode is a few bucks...

There is the Beamswork "pink" led
Amazon.com : Beamswork ER 90 36" LED Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant Pink Roseate 3ft 117x 0.20W : Pet Supplies

They pop up on amazon and the "worlds marketplace"..

Basically a RGB 5050smd w/ green practically off..and a red/blue adjusted ratio..

Oh, or the 24/7 clone:
291688154423
Of course you would probably just use an external timer and adj the color to suit..
36" is $70 See Vivagrow

 

[TracyLee]

Really nice tank! I've had my 40-gallon tank up and running for about 20 days and I already want to do another one. My previous tank was a full blown 55-gallon reef tank that I just loved. Lights are an ever-evolving question, to say the least....lol, I can't wait to figure out how to post pictures!

 

[burr740]

A stingray has decent color rendition but isnt enough to make reds pop. My guess is you'd barely notice one between those two 6500Ks

 

[Nlewis]

Both "work" but simplier and cheaper would be a Finnex stingray..

A fairly simple DIY if you have the 3W type is to change out some of the LEDs to warm white..

MOD - Rework on a Beamswork LED from 10K to 6.5K

Handful of warm white "Bridgelux" diode is a few bucks...

There is the Beamswork "pink" led
Amazon.com : Beamswork ER 90 36" LED Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant Pink Roseate 3ft 117x 0.20W : Pet Supplies

They pop up on amazon and the "worlds marketplace"..

Basically a RGB 5050smd w/ green practically off..and a red/blue adjusted ratio..

Oh, or the 24/7 clone:
291688154423
Of course you would probably just use an external timer and adj the color to suit..
36" is $70 See Vivagrow

Don't really have room to add another fixture on top of the 2 that are there already. The rear fixture is a .5w pent fixture that is fairly wide and takes up a lot of room unlike the front fixture which is the 54x1w 6500k.

 

[jeffkrol]

Don't really have room to add another fixture on top of the 2 that are there already. The rear fixture is a .5w pent fixture that is fairly wide and takes up a lot of room unlike the front fixture which is the 54x1w 6500k.

Then just add these to the pent..

16.4Ft 300Leds SMD 5630 Waterproof Red LED Light Strip DC12V

Or 5630's in warm white..5620's are .5w diodes..
This is w/ 5050 rgb leds

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/10-lighting/627826-beamswork-double-hi-lumen-30-gen4-3.html

A stingray has decent color rendition but isnt enough to make reds pop. My guess is you'd barely notice one between those two 6500Ks

Yea possibly.. Though w/ the low red in the 6500k's it would still add some "pop".. but there are space issues..

 

[Nlewis]

Both "work" but simplier and cheaper would be a Finnex stingray..

A fairly simple DIY if you have the 3W type is to change out some of the LEDs to warm white..

MOD - Rework on a Beamswork LED from 10K to 6.5K

Handful of warm white "Bridgelux" diode is a few bucks...

There is the Beamswork "pink" led
Amazon.com : Beamswork ER 90 36" LED Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant Pink Roseate 3ft 117x 0.20W : Pet Supplies

They pop up on amazon and the "worlds marketplace"..

Basically a RGB 5050smd w/ green practically off..and a red/blue adjusted ratio..

Oh, or the 24/7 clone:
291688154423
Of course you would probably just use an external timer and adj the color to suit..
36" is $70 See Vivagrow

Then just add these to the pent..

16.4Ft 300Leds SMD 5630 Waterproof Red LED Light Strip DC12V

Or 5630's in warm white..5620's are .5w diodes..
This is w/ 5050 rgb leds

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/10-lighting/627826-beamswork-double-hi-lumen-30-gen4-3.html

Yea possibly.. Though w/ the low red in the 6500k's it would still add some "pop".. but there are space issues..

Well this is an option I will look into. Which one do you this will work better, warm white or red?

I may end up getting a whole new more powerful fixture so I can raise the light and get it off the tank. Do you happen to have the par data for the .5w pent fixture? I believe it's the double high lumen I have.

 

[jeffkrol]

I don't believe anyone has measured it or it is a "one of" measurement somewhere. Problem w/ the .5w is raising it will cut PAR down considerably at depth.

As to the recommendation of ww or red..WW is the safer choice overall. adds PAR in a larger spread of wavelengths and isn't so extreme. But if you like red....
W/ a controller like the TC-420 you can control all 3 lights but would need a small modification to the output since some of these are 12v constant voltage some 15V..

 

[Nlewis]

I don't believe anyone has measured it or it is a "one of" measurement somewhere. Problem w/ the .5w is raising it will cut PAR down considerably at depth.

This is what makes me want to just get another light all together. The pent fixture is bright but doesn't seem all that powerful, if that makes sense. That fixture sits directly on top of my tank, meanwhile the 1w I have to raise about 6 inches or so.

Now correct me if I'm wrong here but wouldn't a more powerful(higher par) fixture makes my stems turn a reddish color? Generally isn't the plant turning red a way for the plant to try and block some of the light because it's more than it needs?

 

[jeffkrol]

This is what makes me want to just get another light all together. The pent fixture is bright but doesn't seem all that powerful, if that makes sense. That fixture sits directly on top of my tank, meanwhile the 1w I have to raise about 6 inches or so.

Now correct me if I'm wrong here but wouldn't a more powerful(higher par) fixture makes my stems turn a reddish color? Generally isn't the plant turning red a way for the plant to try and block some of the light because it's more than it needs?

Generally but it is a bit more complicated..You can also make them redder w/ Nitrogen starvation.. i.e less chlorophyll can be made..

To be honest I let other chase red..not my primary objective..

 

[Seattle_Aquarist]

As the title says, I'm looking for recommendations for upgrading my lighting. Attached below is a picture of my 40B and as you can see it's doing pretty well IMO. I'm currently running 2 Beamswork fixtures and they've done their job well but I want to bring the reds out of my stem plants. So, what do you all think?

Thanks

Edit: sorry for the poor picture, iPads have horrible cameras

Hi Nlewis,

The picture is fine. What are you trying to accomplish by adding more 'reds'? If you just like red plants that is great, however if you are trying to accomplish adding a bit more drama or impact to your scape adding more read plants may not accomplish that.

What I noticed first about your 'scape' is almost all the stem plants look very similar with shorter, narrow leaves, mostly green one but a red plant here or there. Have you thought about using plants with different leaf shapes, sizes, and/or textures? You might find it will strongly improve the impact of your 'scape.

For a 'roundish' leaf for example I like lily types like:

Nymphoides hydrophylla 'Taiwan' (also great lime green leaves)

or Nymphaea micrantha

Varied leaf sizes, colors, and textures can improve the visual interest of a 'scape

 

[Nlewis]

Hi Nlewis,

The picture is fine. What are you trying to accomplish by adding more 'reds'? If you just like red plants that is great, however if you are trying to accomplish adding a bit more drama or impact to your scape adding more read plants may not accomplish that.

What I noticed first about your 'scape' is almost all the stem plants look very similar with shorter, narrow leaves, mostly green one but a red plant here or there. Have you thought about using plants with different leaf shapes, sizes, and/or textures? You might find it will strongly improve the impact of your 'scape.

For a 'roundish' leaf for example I like lily types like:

Nymphoides hydrophylla 'Taiwan' (also great lime green leaves)

or Nymphaea micrantha

Varied leaf sizes, colors, and textures can improve the visual interest of a 'scape

I just want to bring out more reds from my plants. For example the ludwigia red is starting to turn green in color and the royals colorata isn't so colorata. I'm leaning twowards the rear light fixture not being powerful enough and want something with a higher par value.

 

[Nlewis]

Both "work" but simplier and cheaper would be a Finnex stingray..

A fairly simple DIY if you have the 3W type is to change out some of the LEDs to warm white..

MOD - Rework on a Beamswork LED from 10K to 6.5K

Handful of warm white "Bridgelux" diode is a few bucks...

I'm seriously contemplating purchasing another fixture like I have on the front which is a 42x1w and doing this. If I were to do this how many warm white LEDs do you think I should install? Would it be worth my time to get some 660nm reds as well?

 

[jeffkrol]

I'm seriously contemplating purchasing another fixture like I have on the front which is a 42x1w and doing this. If I were to do this how many warm white LEDs do you think I should install? Would it be worth my time to get some 660nm reds as well?

2:1 to 3:1 cw:ww is probably a good starting point..
so 14 ww added would lower your K to a bout 5500 (assuming 3500k emitters)

Reds have a different V(f) so it is not likely this will work. You would "overdrive" them w/ the current resistors on the board

 

[Nlewis]

2:1 to 3:1 cw:ww is probably a good starting point..
so 14 ww added would lower your K to a bout 5500 (assuming 3500k emitters)

Reds have a different V(f) so it is not likely this will work. You would "overdrive" them w/ the current resistors on the board

Looks as if the Beamswork 2600 is no longer available. The only one I can find is the 10,00K reef version which would mean replacing all the LEDs. I know 10K will work but I'm not a fan of the color rendition as I feel is really washes out the colors of the plants. So with that I think I'm going to look into a whole new fixture all together. I want to get something similar to the 2600 as far as the par values are concerned but in a warmer tone I guess. The new Fluval looks okay and has a great warranty but it says it's spectrum is 7500K which is roughly what I have now.

 

[jeffkrol]

10k or 6.5k actually "fairly" close.
Replacing 1/3rd w 3500k would average about 7800k.
A 7800K average w/ more red.. Usually..
There are infinite combinations of spectrum that equal 7800k.
no, not ideal..

36" 3W are still around.. Just hack in a dimmer if needed...
36" used 3W
$58
291289250020

 

[niko]

Truth is that when you mix LED with T5HO you get the most amazing looking light ever. But everyone wants LED to do it all.

Try and see for yourself. Yes, use a 5000K T5HO. Or better yet - a Giesemann AquaFlora T5HO bulb. You will be pretty much shocked.

 

[jeffkrol]

Truth is that when you mix LED with T5HO you get the most amazing looking light ever. But everyone wants LED to do it all.

Try and see for yourself. Yes, use a 5000K T5HO. Or better yet - a Giesemann AquaFlora T5HO bulb. You will be pretty much shocked.

Or find "Pink" Beamswork..