Underwater LED's

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red devil

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Jan 7, 2003
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I am aquascaping a small aquarium that is about 14" tall inside. The lid is fixed to the aquarium and has a light strip over the front of the aquarium. The light is adequate for anything I want to put in the front to the middle of the aquarium (meaning front to back) but the back is noticeably darker - the back will have about 2/3's of the plants. I would like to put a strip of lights about 16" long over the back of the rear part of the aquarium. The problem is, because the lid is glued onto the aquarium, the lights have to be submersed - I keep the tank filled right up to the bottom of the lid so that I don't have to worry about water scale :) . The lights will actually be attached to the bottom of the lid in the back part of the aquarium. I have found mixed ideas about underwater LED's. Most of what I have found is the use of lights simply for special effects and not for growing. Is this an option? I would like to put 15 watts in the back because it will be densely planted. It would be ideal if I could adjust the intensity of the lights as well because the amount of natural lighting that the tank receives varies greatly from season to season.

Any ideas?
 

ZorroNet

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Sep 21, 2013
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Do not try to use "waterproof LED" strips for this project. They will not last long and might even endanger your fish. The only ones you could even consider are lights completely encased by a tube of plastic or silicone (like rope lights), but if the end is anywhere near the water, you can kiss them goodbye unless you seal them perfectly yourself.

What about something mounted on the outside of the tank shining in? You could definitely do that as long as the back isn't opaque. It works for the sun :)


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FishFanMan

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Jun 13, 2013
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Look at Marineland's Hidden LED system. You might need 2 to grow plants.
 
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