Anybody running a DIY LED for a planted tank?
- Thread starter Jstdv8
- Start date
color rendering index, got it!
I'm more concerned with gettingt he plants the particular light they need. it seems that is the downside to the LED's from the reading Ive done on FW tanks is that the particular color range that they use to make chlorophyl is not really a color of LED that either looks good or is all that available.
So If I wanted a blue tank, lets say 20k just so we are at opposite ends. can I use the blue's to make the color tank I want and dim them up or down accordingly until I get what I like to look at but at the same time have "the right color" lights for plants as the main LEd bulbs so the plants get what they need?
Or will mixing the two cause the plants to get different light just like I see it different?
I'm not sure if that makes sense to anyone but me now that Ive read it LOL
I'm more concerned with gettingt he plants the particular light they need. it seems that is the downside to the LED's from the reading Ive done on FW tanks is that the particular color range that they use to make chlorophyl is not really a color of LED that either looks good or is all that available.
So If I wanted a blue tank, lets say 20k just so we are at opposite ends. can I use the blue's to make the color tank I want and dim them up or down accordingly until I get what I like to look at but at the same time have "the right color" lights for plants as the main LEd bulbs so the plants get what they need?
Or will mixing the two cause the plants to get different light just like I see it different?
I'm not sure if that makes sense to anyone but me now that Ive read it LOL
Unless you want a "reef blue" look in your planted tank, you need not add blue LEDs. The 20000 K that you have chosen (or even your previous choice of 10000 K) would impart the bluish tinge. Unfortunately, we can't find a common ground here to meet, so to speak, as I don't really care for that kind of look in a FW aquarium.
So far as your plants are concerned, they would get the spectrum they need to grow from your 10000/20000 K LEDs. The spectrum I am interested in is only for our own visual pleasure, which does not benefit the plants. One thing must be said in your favour. With the kind of light you have chosen, blue and red colors in your fish would really pop out, albeit at the cost of the "whitewashed" look of the plants.
I would, however, point out another drawback in choosing those lights. the PAR would be much higher as the lumens would be very high. That would drive your plants like crazy, and you would have to bump up your CO2 injection, more frequent fertilizer dosing and trace element addition and, of course, a lot of pruning. I am a lazy guy, I really can't take that kind of 'torture' LOL!
So far as your plants are concerned, they would get the spectrum they need to grow from your 10000/20000 K LEDs. The spectrum I am interested in is only for our own visual pleasure, which does not benefit the plants. One thing must be said in your favour. With the kind of light you have chosen, blue and red colors in your fish would really pop out, albeit at the cost of the "whitewashed" look of the plants.
I would, however, point out another drawback in choosing those lights. the PAR would be much higher as the lumens would be very high. That would drive your plants like crazy, and you would have to bump up your CO2 injection, more frequent fertilizer dosing and trace element addition and, of course, a lot of pruning. I am a lazy guy, I really can't take that kind of 'torture' LOL!
So you're saying that the blue will grow plants? I thought it was more of a yellow or a green that the plants needed. well, thats good news indeed.
the 20k was just for example.
I have 10ks on mmy SW tank now and they are very much what I would consider nice for a FW tank, but almost unbearablly yellow without the other 3 bulbs on which are pure actinic. That's in my SW tank. I think if the 10'ks alone will grow plants well, I might jsut go with a bunch of them, good to know.
the 20k was just for example.
I have 10ks on mmy SW tank now and they are very much what I would consider nice for a FW tank, but almost unbearablly yellow without the other 3 bulbs on which are pure actinic. That's in my SW tank. I think if the 10'ks alone will grow plants well, I might jsut go with a bunch of them, good to know.
Plants respond most favorably to light in the blue and red spectra, though that does not mean that they do not absorb any of the lights from the green-yellow spectrum. You may like to look at the SPD graph of the LED of your choice and extrapolate that curve with that of a full spectrum light or sunight. It would tell you what you can expect from the LED.
IMO, and this is an "old-fashioned" belief, best of both worlds (for our plants' benefit and our pleasure) can be achieved if you have a light that closely simulates the spectral power distribution of sunlight, has a CCT of 5000-6500 K and a CRI>90. That is my definition of an ideal light for our FW planted aqurium. I have not been able to find an LED yet that matches the above criteria. Am I missing something here?
IMO, and this is an "old-fashioned" belief, best of both worlds (for our plants' benefit and our pleasure) can be achieved if you have a light that closely simulates the spectral power distribution of sunlight, has a CCT of 5000-6500 K and a CRI>90. That is my definition of an ideal light for our FW planted aqurium. I have not been able to find an LED yet that matches the above criteria. Am I missing something here?
This guy built two 100w LED's at 6500k and then suplimented actinic T-5's to get the look he wanted. But you could go without the T-5's...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bgT_6LiNfM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bgT_6LiNfM
