Red plants and LED's?

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Nathan.G

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May 15, 2014
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I have a 40 breeder (36''x18''x16'') I currently have 4 t5HO mixture of 1 Midday, 2 aquaflora ,and one lagoon, Guiessmann bulbs. In trial and error + research, I have found that red is not as important to red plants because the coloring , (IE. red is not absorbed but reflected by true red plants). with this combo i have had phenomenal red coloration and the rest for my plants look very healthy and have fast growth as well .

I am now due to change out my bulbs and i have some issues with a conductor or something, (its not the ballast) its buzzing and the light is not as bright. so if I am going to invest money in a fixture again id rather send it on leds, with the price coming down greatly and the diversity of spectrums plus the energy efficiency i figure now is the time!

My concern ls that a lot of people in forums have stated a loss of red color in their plants , i have herd about success with a combination of different fixtures. Finnex, BML, Eco, ect. i have called manufactures and they all have seem more the ready to blow smoke. all say yes we grow red plants but won't guarantee any thing except the light will come on,
I am leaning toward finnex , ray 2, and a monster ray, because my tank is rather wide

Any thoughts would be appreciated
 
JAY973

JAY973

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Dec 24, 2005
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If you'd like to chat LEDs try http://seaspraydesigns.com/freshwater-led-lights/ I've seen these fixtures 1st hand here's a little information from one of our meetings where they were demonstrated back in March on the public forum side http://www.njagc.net/wp/meetings/march-15th-2014/ it was impressive what it did for colors and the growth was undeniable.

I should disclose I am an NJAGC member but I know very little about LEDs now other members have made the jump to these fixtures and swear by them. I'm teetering in that direction but had made a big investment in bulbs late last year because I bought in bulk like an idiot.
 
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sonychemp

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Aug 1, 2014
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Hi

I would like some advice on LED. Is Fluval P24 AQUALIFE & PLANT FULL SPECTRUM good for plant growth.Do you think it has sufficient light for plant growth, or do I have to add one more.
I have attached a picture of the tank and the details below.Its only 2 Weeks after switching to LED.
Tank.jpg
Lighting :
Before : AquaticLife Duel-Lamp T5 Ho fixture with Giesemann PowerChrome AquaFlora 24" 24W HO T5 Lamp &PowerChrome 6000K Midday 24" 24W HO T5 Lamp - on timer 8hrs/day
Now : Fluval P24 AQUALIFE & PLANT FULL SPECTRUM on Timer 8hrs
Tank : 20G High
Substrate : CaribSea - Eco Complete Planted Black Aquarium Substrate & Seachem Flourite BlackFilter : Fluval 206 Canister filter.- Full time
UV - Corellife Turbo Twist - On timer - 4hrs/day
CO2 : Pressurized CO2 (GL - ATOMIC CO2 REGULATOR V2) On timer
2 X Timer GE 15 Amp 7-Day Plug-In Dual-Outlet Digital Timer - 16$ Homedepot/Walmart. (Best timer than any sold inAquarium Shop)
Aeration - on Timer 8 hrs/Day

Timer setup
1. Timer - 8hrs/Day - Light,CO2 & Aeration
2. Timer - 4hrs/Day - UV

Tank.jpg
 
Byron Amazonas

Byron Amazonas

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I can't offer anything on LED (my one foray into this was disastrous), but I would like to comment on the "red" issue.

Light in both the red and blue wavelengths is necessary for photosynthesis in aquatic plants that we maintain in aquaria. Red plants require more intense lighting because they appear red due to reflecting red light, as was mentioned previously. But this loss of red light does not mean they can do without red, but it must be made up for, if photosynthesis is to continue. The additional intensity seems to provide this, even though it may not be in the red wavelength; brighter light that has red, blue and green in the mix, such as with "daylight" bulbs/tubes with around 6500K, is sufficient.

Red light is what produces taller growth, so a lack of red light may result in more compact lower plants, according to Karen Randall and others.

Byron.
 
Byron Amazonas

Byron Amazonas

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sonychemp said:
View attachment 213560

This is the spectrum they say and the specification.

460nm Blue,650nm Orange,etc
Click to expand...
As far as the colour and spectrum, I would consider this to be good. More warm than cool (red/orange is the warm, blue the cool, and this is reflected in the Kelvin), but a good mix for plants. I use T8 fluorescents still, and on my dual-tube tanks I use one 5000K and one 6500K which is close to what is shown here. Colours are true and plants do very well.

As for the intensity, I will leave it to those with LED experience. You might want to mention the tank size, volume and dimensions, and this is obviously related.

Byron.
 
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Nathan.G

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May 15, 2014
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Phoenix, AZ Valley of the Sun... Stroke
Byron always a pleasure to have u comment!, thx.

I only wish it would have gone better for u, cause now I'm a little more apprehensive in converting to led!
And i agree all plants do need a balanced spect. of light thats why i went the lagoon as a posed to others, if my memory serves me right it had a spike in red, but the color change in my percicaria (that i no longer have) was very dramatic, like 3 days and i saw huge change over just using middays and aqua-floras.

And before someone runs out and starts changing bulbs in there set up, don't! It worked for me, I'm not saying it will work for u! Pool questions I'm your guy, Aquarium stuff ask the experts (I'm NOT one)
 
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sonychemp

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Aug 1, 2014
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Byron .
I have already specified the tank size and complete setup on this tread.


Nathen G
If you look @ my tank, I have red colour plants and it stays red.
If you can hold of for one week, I say how the growth is. I have pressurized CO2 on timer. It switches on when the light comes on.
I have added one more Fluval Fluval P24 AQUALIFE & PLANT FULL SPECTRUM and reduced the time to 6:30Hrs. I use GE timer and its good.
So @present I have 2 on my 20G tank, lets see how it does.

Also Fluval is launching a version 2 with the Par as per them, I got a mail today.
But everyone is leaning toward Satellite +. and the PAR value is good.
 
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