Are These LED's Good Enough?

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Loach guy

Loach guy
Dec 20, 2013
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Hey all!

I'm starting up a new 75 gallon F/W planted tank pretty soon here, so time is of the essence. I am going to be housing a mix of plants (high light to low light) along with different types of rainbowfish. I was planning on getting a 4-bulb T5 fixture with LED lunar lights. However, when I was looking for a good deal on a fixture like that, I ran across these cheap LED fixtures. I am thinking about either running a 2-bulb T5 fixture with it, or just 2 of these LED fixtures. Take a look at the link below, and let me know what you think.

http://current-usa.com/is-the-satellite-freshwater-led-plus-bright-enough/


I really appreciate all of your time helping me out in this matter!
 

Byron Amazonas

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I have heard that the "Current" freshwater LED is good planted tank lighting, but I have no personal experience so others who have can comment.

I would however caution you that T5 is very bright lighting, and four tubes would be way too much light for what you are intending. This lighting was actually developed for marine tanks with corals, where very high light is necessary. Over freshwater planted tanks, two tubes (assuming these are 4-foot like the tank mentioned) is more than enough for high-tech planted systems using diffused CO2. I would find it much too bright for anything less. And I have tried a two-tube 4-foot T5 over my 5-foot tank, and after a week took it back because it was far too intense.

LED is probably the better way to go here, as it will last longer (20,000 hours with no replacement of tubes/bulbs) and run cheaper, even though initially probably more cost to acquire. Just be careful, as many of the units are very blue. The "Current" model linked seems OK in this respect.

Byron.
 

dougall

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calivivarium1

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I run two on the tank in my sig... works fine for what I need it to do. Check it out.

ETA: the second fixture your posted is a marine one, I wouldn't use it. IIRC, Current was supposed to be coming out with an even more powerful freshwater LED fixture. I dunno if they did or not, the two Satellite + units I have do all I need them to do.
 

Loach guy

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Dec 20, 2013
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Thanks guys. I really appreciate the feedback. My budget is somewhat limited in what I can do right now, and I have so far to go on this tank. I still need to find some suitable substrate. I am hoping to get that done this weekend. This is a father and son project. My son has absorbed so much, and is SO interested in learning more. I don't have him this weekend, but I'm sure he's going to want to dive into it Memorial weekend. So my plan is to have the substrate, light(s), and plants arrive before hand so we can get some water in the tank.

So now, I'm thinking about another direction. The tank came with a cheap florescent light. I am thinking that I could get a decent 2-bulb T5 on a timer for growing, and use the florescent for display. This could buy me some time to decide if the original "Current" light would be enough if used with the T5. Or if need be, once I get a bunch of high light plants in the tank, I could add a second 2 bulb T5 and a "Current" 44" LED strip for display. Let me know what you guys think about this plan.
 

FreshyFresh

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Jan 11, 2013
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Loach guy, I've got a BeamsWork 6500K 48" LED on my 75g that grows floating water sprite and wisteria well. It's a very intense light. I did have problems given one bank of 3 LEDs stopped working, but it was worth a try, given it was a $69 fixture, shipping included.

Like Byron said, I've got a 48" twin tube 6500K T5HO on my 55g. It's a lot of light and tends to be too much for plants like anubia and java fern unless you shield it with lots of floating plants to soak up the intensity.
 

Byron Amazonas

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Thanks guys. I really appreciate the feedback. My budget is somewhat limited in what I can do right now, and I have so far to go on this tank. I still need to find some suitable substrate. I am hoping to get that done this weekend. This is a father and son project. My son has absorbed so much, and is SO interested in learning more. I don't have him this weekend, but I'm sure he's going to want to dive into it Memorial weekend. So my plan is to have the substrate, light(s), and plants arrive before hand so we can get some water in the tank.

So now, I'm thinking about another direction. The tank came with a cheap florescent light. I am thinking that I could get a decent 2-bulb T5 on a timer for growing, and use the florescent for display. This could buy me some time to decide if the original "Current" light would be enough if used with the T5. Or if need be, once I get a bunch of high light plants in the tank, I could add a second 2 bulb T5 and a "Current" 44" LED strip for display. Let me know what you guys think about this plan.
I would not consider mixing lighting. The less fixtures you have sitting on the tank, the better for several reasons.

Unless you intend going high-tech, with diffused CO2 and daily nutrient dosing, you do not want very bright lighting. I know it is very difficult these days, with all the different lighting options, since there is no standard comparison. Back when I started, in the 1980's, the "normal" fluorescent lighting (T12, then T8) was about all there was, aside from metal halide. And tubes for T12/T8 were straightforward. Wattage was a fairly good indicator of intensity. But all that changed with the introduction of T5, and the changes to the manufacture of T8 allowing for more light intensity with less wattage. Wattage is simply the measurement of the amount of energy that a given tube or bulb uses to produce the light. But in T8 alone you can have 40w tubes that are no where near the intensity of 32w. So you can see that wattage is not an accurate guide unless you are comparing identical tubes/bulbs. Example, the CFL screw-in bulbs. A GE 13w Daylight CFL will be more intense (brighter) light than a GE 10w Daylight CFL. But this wattage comparison only works for identically-manufactured tubes/bulbs.

Back to your 75g tank which is 4-feet in length. Since the 1990's I have been using T8 fluorescent tubes, and two of these (4-foot length) over a 4-foot tank is ideal for moderate lighting. IK have experimented with dual T5 tubes and it was way too much for my system, even over my 5-foot tank which also has two 4-foot T8 tubes. See photos attached for examples of what is possible with this lighting. All these tanks have the same lighting over them, two 32w T8 tubes with a Kelvin of 6500K. The unfortunate thing is that these fixtures are next to impossible to find now, as the industry and hobby has moved on through T5 and now LED. The intensity of light is extremely important. Not only does it matter to plants (different species have differing light requirements), but also to fish (it is always a good maxim to have less rather than more light for the sake of the fish). And light beyond what the plants can use (which has to be balanced with available nutrients including CO2) means algae will have a field day.

This probably doesn't help you decide on lighting fixtures, but it may provide some idea of why this is no easy question to answer. And these fixtures are not inexpensive. I try to buy from local stores simply because it is easier to return them.

Byron.

70g Feb 27-14.JPG 115g Oct 17-13.JPG 90g Oct 17-13.JPG
 

FreshyFresh

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Byron, I couldn't agree more. I've searched and searched for a 48" twin-tube T8 for my 55 and 75. Only thing I could ever find are your typical shop-lights. I guess these could work, but there's no real reflectors on them.
 

Byron Amazonas

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Byron, I couldn't agree more. I've searched and searched for a 48" twin-tube T8 for my 55 and 75. Only thing I could ever find are your typical shop-lights. I guess these could work, but there's no real reflectors on them.
The light over my 5-foot 115g tank gave out last month. This fixture was five-feet (the black plastic housing) holding two 48-inch T8 tubes. I bought it with the tank back in 1996, and have been expecting it to give out some day. Anyway, finding T8 fixtures is impossible, and I won't buy used as I've no idea what condition they may be in. So I decided I had to change.

T5 I have had over this same tank once before, two 48-inch HO tubes. [This was when one of my old 4-foot fixtures quit three years ago and I decided to try T5, which was too bright over the 4-foot so I tried it on the 5 thinking I could use the 5 fixture on the 4--if I haven't lost you yet, lol.] It was way too bright, even over the 5-foot, so after a week it went back. I managed to find a new 4-foot in the store. So this time, T5 was out of the question, and I looked into LED.

The only local LEDs for freshwater (the marine ones are way too blue) was the Marineland Double Bright, but the manufacturer says this is equivalent to one T8 tube, so that would mean two LED fixtures. I found a Fluval UltraBright online, claimed to be equivalent to two T8 tubes, so I got that. Too blue by far, and not sufficient intensity. Got hold of an electrician to fix my old fixture, he wanted over $200. Forget that.

Finally I decided to see about repairing this myself; new ballasts would cost me $60, and I wasn't too thrilled trying to replace these with all those coloured wires, plus this fixture had two fuses and for all I knew they might be gone too. I ended up getting a shop fixture at Home Depot for $30 which fit inside the housing perfectly (I pulled out the old workings completely). Now I have what amounts to a brand new T8 dual tube fixture that will probably outlast the tank itself.

Byron.
 
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