LEDs for a planted tank??

F

Fishyluv123

Small Fish
#1
Jan 18, 2009
17
0
0
www.guineapigstuff.com
#1
Ok - so I've done A LOT of research today about this one...

Apparently, plants need blue and red LEDs to grow. I'm not really into the purple-ish look that the two colours make, so I'm wondering if about 7 white leds plus 1 blue and 2 red LEDs will work.

According to many websites, plants need red more than blue....

Has anyone here ever built their own LED-light for their planted tank? How did it work? Any tips??

But most of all, will the plants be fine with white LEDs as well?

By the way, I'm choosing low light plants...for a 15 gallon tank
 

Orion

Orion

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#2
Feb 10, 2003
5,803
3
38
Kentucky
www.thefishcave.net
#2
It's not so much about the color we see, but the color spectrum the lights actually produce. I don't know that much about LED's, but I did do a bit of research on them a few years ago and the only viable option that would lead to any type of healthy plant growth was a special bulb made just for plants that gave off light in the correct spectrum of light. They were kind of expensive, didn't last too long and were rather limited to how far down in water the light would reach very well. In other words, it would have been a neat experiment, but not a good alternitive at the time.
 

Chris_A

Chris_A

Large Fish
#3
Oct 14, 2008
615
0
0
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
#3
Try a Hydroponic shop. A local Hydroponic shop has a bunch of LED arrays for plants. All are water resistant as well so that's kinda nice. One thing Orion already mentioned is how far the penatrate into the tank, even with a HUGE number of them it still won't penatrate deeper. That said though, if you can find some High Intensity, wide angle ones with individual reflectors they can go pretty deep. Also how high they are from the top of the water had a big impact on how the light spreads. On a 12" deep tank you'd be looking at 8-10" lift over the water for a decent spread. Also open top is the best with these... They just don't have the "punch" to make it through a glass top and still have a lot of useful light.

Chris
 

Lotus

Lotus

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#4
Aug 26, 2003
15,115
13
38
Southern California
home.earthlink.net
#4
You can also Google "LED grow lights" and you'll get quite a few results. As others said, it's not as simple as getting a few LED lights and stringing them together. The LEDs that you need for growing plants (or corals) are pretty specific, with specialized reflectors, etc. This one seems reasonable: http://www.shop.sunshine-systems.com/product.sc?productId=1&sourceCode=froogle

Don't be surprised if the local police or DEA show up at your house... :)
 

Lotus

Lotus

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#7
Aug 26, 2003
15,115
13
38
Southern California
home.earthlink.net
#7
From what I understand from a post I read on another forum, LEDs do work well for growing aquatic plants, but the color of the light is less than pleasing. It might be a good idea for a grow out tank, but be warned that it may not look the way you expect a tank to look.
 

M

Mike61704

Small Fish
#9
Jan 15, 2009
19
0
0
www.exidous.com
#9
actually i just added a moonlight led strip on my 90 gallon, there are 15 surface mount leds on a timer to come on at night and to tell you honostly im really hooked, i mean these things shimmer like metal halide lamps. I own a fabrication shop and built my own t-8 hood the other day and im doing tons of research on building a all led hood. the only problem im running into is finding an led controller to control the timing aspect, sunrise and sunset. I know you can put the 12v power supplies on seperate timers but i want the gradual effect you get from say a solaris system. like this system here:

YouTube - DIY LED aquarium light

i cant seem to get a hold of the guy but im sure he could shed some light on controlling the lights.

here are the leds im going to be using:

Luxeon Stars : Luxeon Star LEDs, High Power LED Products & Accessories

still doing research before i dump some money into it but im a DIY kind of guy and certainly dont want to shell out 3000 for a solaris system. i will post all my findings during my research here if you want? let me know.

Mike
 

F

Fishyluv123

Small Fish
#13
Jan 18, 2009
17
0
0
www.guineapigstuff.com
#13
Mike61704 said:
still doing research before i dump some money into it but im a DIY kind of guy and certainly dont want to shell out 3000 for a solaris system. i will post all my findings during my research here if you want? let me know.

Mike
Click to expand...
Ya, sure extra info is always good to know. Maybe I'll end up changing my simple diy led strip with your findings etc...
 

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