Spotlight led

[Agro]

Some people use a spotlight led type these

For lighting a tank.
I want to use one for light a 8/9 gal planted tank no fish
I try with 5W
Any suggestions? I know nothing about lighting in the aquarium, is an experiment.
3000 kelvin is to less?

 

[FreshyFresh]

I purchased 8 of this type of twist-lock lamp to replace 50 watt halogen lamps in recessed lighting in my home. 5 of the 8 stopped working in less than 6 months. They were mail-order off-brand lamps. Wound up going back to 50 watt halogens in those recessed lights.

 

[Agro]

I know some people have similar problem.
I search a cheap solution, and make new experiences.

 

[huapala]

i have heard from some people that any visable light will allow growth. i tend to stick to 6500k when using bulbs that are not specific to horticulture. let us know how it goes

Sent from my VS920 4G using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Sean W.]

[video=youtube;07cBZVXecZ4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07cBZVXecZ4[/video]

 

[Agro]

any visable light will allow growth.

Is not correct plant adsorb blue and red radiation, and not green.
The led light is not full spectrum, like T5, have more blue, but red is deficient.
Not all led is good for plant, sometime necessary add red light.

Sean good job, i understand you have 4 lumen for inch and the bulb have 90 ° but don't understand, kelvin, power an light flux for each bulb.

 

[huapala]

Technically light is not color at all but it is simply a brain eye response to the different wavelengths of light that exist ; ) Plants to not absorb all of the spectrum of visible light (i.e. green). A bulb in full spectrum will have a kelvin temp of 5,550 (pure white) and will emit all colors of visible light equally so it will appear to our eye as being white. However, you mentioned you know nothing about aquarium lighting, that is why I wrote what I did. I do not know of any consumer home bulbs that emit only green light, and I do not think that it would be very complementary to your tank or fish. If you want to really grow plants and you are not looking for any sort of displaying properties then I suggest buying a horticulture LED fixture that has a combination of red and blue emitting diodes.

 

[jpappy789]

I cannot comment on the LEDs themselves as I don't know much about them...but I can say a little bit about the theory...

Keep in mind the K rating is a very simplified way to describe spectrum. The actual spectral output can vary by bulbs and have peaks in different areas (I have yet to see a bulb that is completely equal across the visible spectrum). And if you look at any PAR or efficiency graph you'll see absorption in the green/yellow...is it as high as blue or red? No, but it's not completely ignored by plants either.

There are certainly commercial LEDs being used without high red output. The Finnex Ray II comes to mind. Mostly blue, even from the white diodes. Yet people can grow a lot of plants using that fixture and the PAR output is higher than some LEDs with reds...my Sat+, for example, has white and RGB but lower overall PAR output. I wouldn't attempt to grow higher light plants that people can grow with Ray II's.

The red issue has been discussed before. It seems the biggest concern is that without enough red output, plants that are not inherently red (ie. they can turn green) wont appear as red as you would probably like. It's one reason why Finnex now has a red-specific LED clip addition on the market.

You can certainly target certain ranges in the spectrum by selecting specific nm output LEDs. Whether that is worth the time/effort/money is up to you.

I highly suggest reading these DIY threads on TPT:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=182365
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=168999&highlight=led+fixture+build

buildmyled.com used to have an LED calculator that seemed to be very useful to many. However I don't think it has been replaced since they updated their website.

 

[Agro]

I started to study the LEDs in the aquarium from this guide
http://www.acquariofilia.biz/showthread.php?t=315505
is written in Italian but I think that is understandable with google translator.
I saw most people grow plant without red led.
I saw the features oh Ray II, use 7000K and 10000K led, is not too much for freshwater?
In my country generally suggest not exceed 6500K, for not stimulate algae.
Japappy thank to link i go to study.

 

[jpappy789]

I've done fine with pure 10,000K lights. It appears a bit more blue but my eyes were ok with it. Not sure I would buy into anything saying that it stimulates algae...I've yet to see algae be any more particular to a certain type of light compared to plants.