[dnrdarryl]

I see some advertised for fish tanks in Foster and Smith. Can these be used for low light plants like Anubias and java moss? My fish room is getting a little too warm. I use flourescent shop lights and will be switching to T5 to reduce heat a little but was thinking LED would be alot less heat?

 

[ray-the-pilot]

I see some advertised for fish tanks in Foster and Smith. Can these be used for low light plants like Anubias and java moss? My fish room is getting a little too warm. I use flourescent shop lights and will be switching to T5 to reduce heat a little but was thinking LED would be alot less heat?

I have LED lighting in my set up but it is designed to simulate moon light. I do not believe that there are LED's that emit enough light to simulate daylight.

BTW the moonlight LED's are really great because you can see the fish activity at night. There is plenty and it is interesting.

 

[StevieD]

If you buy a LED lighting system designed for daylight they pretty much are the best. They are expensive right now, but i think you will see they will be the lights of the future. In all tests that i have read not only are leds brighter, but the light is more evenly spaced, more consistant, less heat, way more efficient, bulbs last in upwards of 10 years and they have an unsurpassed amount of control with intensity and spectrum. A 4' unit will cost upwards of $1500 or even more, but i think we will see these prices start to drop in the near future.

By the way they are very effective in growing any type of coral very well, and some corals need much more light intensity than planted aquariums, so all around they are the best choice in my opinion...as long as the price comes down. If you think of electrical savings and cost of replacing bulbs even for only 5 years, especially compared to MH, it is actually cheaper to go the LED route, and you will be getting a much better light and less drawbacks.

Here is a video of the Lumenaqua Led Lighting system geared towards planted tanks.

Stevie D

 

[freydo]

LED's are capable of growing plants, however they are not very effective in deep tanks. gomer has/had done lots of testing, and at the time, it's not very cost effective as StevieD has also mentioned.

you can see one of gomer's posts regarding LED plant lighting and the results:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/diy-aquarium-projects/31815-here-we-go-again-led-lighting.html

 

[Cliff Mayes]

I agree that LEDs are the future but does anyone have a guesstamite about when the price will come down. DIY does not bother me but the cost does. When the great revolution takes place it will dramatically reduce the cost of aquarium keeping! It will not take too much to beat the normal offerings that come with tanks so it will be interesting to watch the changes that are coming.

 

[StevieD]

With a spread much greater and more consistant than MH, and can penetrate more than 30" just fine, what more do you need? Evaluation of NEW LED fixtures have more than been proven on reef aquariums just check out the forums...infact i'm sure you could light a planted tank 36" deep without any problem and have excellent growth. Yes they are expensive, but they have many benifits, and if you are factoring the cost of MH over 5 years they are definitely cheaper. Plus what you can do with a light controller and LED is incredible.

BTW there are some really good super scientific (at least scientific for out hobby) studies on LED lighting on the reef forums if you are in doubt read up on them. If reefers aprove of the LED we can be ASSURED they are good, especially for planted tanks. Ofcourse there are many that don't want to believe that they are when they have spent an arm and a leg for lighting for their tank and have to pay ridiculous amounts of money for their electrical bill... but like anything else you see this anywhere products are being compared.



Stevie D

 

[Manwithnofish]

Generally speaking, I agree with StevieD on this. No doubt that LEDs are more than capable of producing more than enough light. I'm sure there will be debates yet to come about he "color" and this and that (as there always has been on the subject of lights).

LEDs have become the lighting standard for web inspections systems in factories that produce paper, film, metal, foils, etc. I know some of these modules come in 12" lengths....maybe DIY can bring them on soon rather than later.
LEDs are very long lasting and uniform. The prices will come down, but how soon...probably another few years.

 

[ray-the-pilot]

I see some advertised for fish tanks in Foster and Smith. Can these be used for low light plants like Anubias and java moss? My fish room is getting a little too warm. I use flourescent shop lights and will be switching to T5 to reduce heat a little but was thinking LED would be alot less heat?

This is interesting. Everyone on this thread seems to think that LED's are the greatest thing since sliced bread! I'd like to try them out. Can you link me to someplace where someone has actually used them in a daylight set up?

The LED's that I have can just about light your wristwatch.

 

[Cliff Mayes]

LED Flashlights are common, and they are bright! I already own a bunch of them.

From all that I have read LEDs are going to revolutionize home wiring.

Read the links provided in this thread. There are postings that in the past have described experimenting with LEDs and planted tanks. This is old technology and I am sure that things have changed already. Technology is not waiting for anybody. This hobby is not driving anything but the large markets will and we (this hobby) can sponge off of the advances.

 

[Raul-7]

From what I've read on ReefCentral, they definitely are the future but with the current technology it just isn't worth the money.

 

[Manwithnofish]

I don't know of anyone using them in our hobby yet. I know of them being used in industrial applications. Let there be no doubt that they can light up your tank or anything else. The industrial applications are composed of an array of LEDs in modules that can be added together in any configuration you need. Again, it's not being marketed for home hobbist, but who know what will happen in a couple of years. A couple of sites below, just to let you know that I'm not making this up.

http://www.rpcphotonics.com/collimators.asp

http://www.cognex.com/ProductsServices/VisionSystems/InSightAlt.aspx?id=1750&terms=LED+lights

Having said all this, let me state right now that I'm no expert in this and someone may point out legitimate issues with this ever working for our hobby...but from I have have seen, I believe it is real promising.

 

[dnrdarryl]

Thanks for all the responses folks! I did some Googling on the subject and yes they are being marketed for commercial greenhouses and some outfits are selling aquatic gardening modules. The energy savings is incredible. Yes, they are pricey with a cost of about $50-100 per square foot that you light. A guy might be able to DIY a cheaper version but like when drip irrigation systems came out, the components are still pretty high.

If I win the Powerball I'll get one and report back. In the meantime I'm thinking of switching to electronic ballasts and T-5.

 

[Cliff Mayes]

Thank you for the replies.

Soon but not just yet.

LEDs are coming and I can't wait!

 

[Indignation]

Here is a video of the Lumenaqua Led Lighting system geared towards planted tanks.

Stevie D

Did anyone else watch this? This light is definitely one of the coolest new technologies I've seen for our hobby yet! Can't wait for someone to actually try one and report if it is as awesome as it looks. Unfortunately, it's far too expensive for me ATM.

 

[StevieD]

I'm sure you will be able to DIY, but there are some lens filtering layers that the aquarium LED systems use that seem pretty important, and they use LED controllers for color/K so it really is a lighting system rather than just a light you flip a switch.

 

[AquaVu]

LED is absolutely be the future of all lighting applications. They have advanced so much but still a little pricey at the moment. I own several LED units from flash lights to DIY aquarium lights. The future is indeed VERY BRIGHT!!

 

[AquaVu]

This Xmas, find some LED Xmas lights at your "after holidays clearance". Try your hand at creating some homemade aquarium lights. They are bright, low energy, never burn out, stay cool, Etc. Can't say enough about LED lights. Good luck

 

[squirrelproductions]

This Xmas, find some LED Xmas lights at your "after holidays clearance". Try your hand at creating some homemade aquarium lights. They are bright, low energy, never burn out, stay cool, Etc. Can't say enough about LED lights. Good luck

The Target by us always runs out of the LED lights -- even before Christmas I'm tempted to pay full-price *shudder* for some DIY tinkering.

 

[StevieD]

This is what LED's can do with a light controller.... blows anything away we have seen so far. This link simulates a thunderstorm and clouds moving over the water.

This is just another example of an LED accessory to simulate a storm.

Stevie D

 

[Supercoley1]

This is interesting. Everyone on this thread seems to think that LED's are the greatest thing since sliced bread! I'd like to try them out. Can you link me to someplace where someone has actually used them in a daylight set up?

The LED's that I have can just about light your wristwatch.

Ray - Stick with us and you may learn some great things:

I use 15 x 3W 5500K luxeon LEDs which I underpower so they run at 2.8W. That makes 42W over a 33USG (1.25WPG!!!!) This is then raised 13" above the water level. Man that must be dark?? ROFL.

These are also setup in 5 series so my lights turn on in increments from left to right to simulate the sun coming from the left, reaching full spread and then turning off in increments from the left.

You would need in the region of 500+ standard LEDs to get this light!!!!

My setup does not use lenses, reflectors or collimators. I do not want focus points. I want even spread!!!

Here is the setup:

Here are the lights:

And the rig(s) in position (The main tank only has the left 3 series of 5 on here and is midway through sunrise :

Here is the sequence from 1 light to full:

You can use these for Nanos too. lol:

I don't think anyone needs to ask if they are any good at growing plants

AC