Switching to LED fixture question
- Thread starter dereks
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NoodleCats
AC Members
There's no reason to be embarrassed 
Pet stores often mark up light fixtures and don't often carry the "budget" lights. I think asking others about it is a good thing, you want to save money and are going into a new thing. No shame in asking questions to get ideas and suggestions.
Pet stores often mark up light fixtures and don't often carry the "budget" lights. I think asking others about it is a good thing, you want to save money and are going into a new thing. No shame in asking questions to get ideas and suggestions.
Here is my issue with the sunrise/sunset simulators. I have all my planted tank lights on timers. My plecos breeding and grow tanks have lights only one when I am working in a tank.
But for the tanks with lights, they do not turn on until anout 10 am/ By then the natural light in the room means the tanks are pretty fsar from being dark. So I see no reason at all to simulate sunrise. And the lights go out well after dark but in most rooms there are still a bit of room light and the tanks aren't 100% dark. However, the light level is low enough that the fish can easily shelter in areas of the tank where there will be very little light.
I understand the arguement for simulating sunrise and sunset. but how many years have folks kept tanks without that feature. If lacking it meant someting "bad" for the fish, would not that have been discovered before the simulating lights came out?
I also have a couple of planted tanks where the lights go off a for about 3 hours mid day and then come back on. Now issues there either.
And what about lightning or a full moon? They cause a departure from the normal light cycle in the wild. Shouldn't that be a worry? But I have never hear about that being an issue?
Or what about a body of water which is well shaded by mountains or big hills so the sun rises, but it is mostly blocked early and when it cleasr the obstruction- it is full strength?
Finally, most fish which are not bocturnal tend to shelter at night, They want to be less visible to poetential predattors. So, when the tank lights come on in the morning many of the fish will be shaded i would think.
But for the tanks with lights, they do not turn on until anout 10 am/ By then the natural light in the room means the tanks are pretty fsar from being dark. So I see no reason at all to simulate sunrise. And the lights go out well after dark but in most rooms there are still a bit of room light and the tanks aren't 100% dark. However, the light level is low enough that the fish can easily shelter in areas of the tank where there will be very little light.
I understand the arguement for simulating sunrise and sunset. but how many years have folks kept tanks without that feature. If lacking it meant someting "bad" for the fish, would not that have been discovered before the simulating lights came out?
I also have a couple of planted tanks where the lights go off a for about 3 hours mid day and then come back on. Now issues there either.
And what about lightning or a full moon? They cause a departure from the normal light cycle in the wild. Shouldn't that be a worry? But I have never hear about that being an issue?
Or what about a body of water which is well shaded by mountains or big hills so the sun rises, but it is mostly blocked early and when it cleasr the obstruction- it is full strength?
Finally, most fish which are not bocturnal tend to shelter at night, They want to be less visible to poetential predattors. So, when the tank lights come on in the morning many of the fish will be shaded i would think.
I agree, there's no need to be embarrassed. We've all done "lesser" things but we learn & try to do better.
I also agree w/TTA, I've never done sunrise/set lighting. But I do, like he does, take window & room lighting into consideration. & in our electronic lives, I have a few very small lights all over & always on. Less than a full "moon" amount of light but more than pitch dark. My fish, diurnal, crepuscular (dawn & dusk active) or nocturnal don't seem to care. I bet they notice when I get up in the night & turn on the kitchen light for an hour or 3 but they breed & behave in a "normal" way. Our fish are quite adaptable. Don't over think it.
I also agree w/TTA, I've never done sunrise/set lighting. But I do, like he does, take window & room lighting into consideration. & in our electronic lives, I have a few very small lights all over & always on. Less than a full "moon" amount of light but more than pitch dark. My fish, diurnal, crepuscular (dawn & dusk active) or nocturnal don't seem to care. I bet they notice when I get up in the night & turn on the kitchen light for an hour or 3 but they breed & behave in a "normal" way. Our fish are quite adaptable. Don't over think it.
NoodleCats
AC Members
Agreed on the sunset/sunrise thing. There's other methods around it, and it's just a "neat" feature mostly. Not a necessary thing. Most folks turn tank lights on during daylight hours anyways so there's already a gradual increase/decrease in lights anyways (I turn tank lights on at 3pm and off at 9pm, myself, because I'm more active in the afternoon, so that's when I'll want to view my aquariums most).
But it's neither good or bad, it's just a neat gimmick that you pay a lot extra for. And I know blue light isn't very good for our own eyes, what would that blue light do to eyes of fish on all night with the night feature, and ourselves being around it all the time? I don't really like the blue night light feature either.
Fun comment though, did you know there's a light that even mimics thunderstorms? You can program it that way. It's an interesting concept but that's gotta be annoying as a fish to see the lights flash lol
But it's neither good or bad, it's just a neat gimmick that you pay a lot extra for. And I know blue light isn't very good for our own eyes, what would that blue light do to eyes of fish on all night with the night feature, and ourselves being around it all the time? I don't really like the blue night light feature either.
Fun comment though, did you know there's a light that even mimics thunderstorms? You can program it that way. It's an interesting concept but that's gotta be annoying as a fish to see the lights flash lol
The sunrise sunset depends on the fish you keep and room. A room that has a large amount of ambient sunlight or similar probably doesn't need sunrise/sunset. Certain fishes that are not easily spooked also probably don't need sunrise/sunset. My wild caught discus can be easily spooked just by turning on the room light so there is some benefit to ramp-up/down with them. For most pleco i own i actually don't care if they get spooked because they aren't going to ram into the side of the tank looking for a cave to hide. My point: there is no right answer here - however most medium level to high end lights are gonna have the feature. It cost very little or next to nothing. The only moderately strong aquarium light i know without the feature is aquarium-coop which is basically a fluval plant 3.0 without the ramp up/down feature. It is dimmable since it has intensity setting so adding the logic to actually ramp up/down should have been pennies on teh dollars.
Anyway on the medium high-end my favorite light by far is the ai blade. I haven't found a low end light i like yet (i don't like the colour tones of the hygger or low end fluval) - i might give the jcp a try but i'm kind of picky about the quality of light. I have tried or own the following lights:
fluval plant 3.0 (tried lower end models - + strong enough, ip68, 3 year warranty - not super strong - slight yellow tint)
ai blade (no ip68, usually 1 year warranty, stronger tha fluval but not super strong)
ghl Lx7 series (pain in the ass to use, insanely expensive)
wrgb 2 (very strong, some reliablitity issues reported with blu-tooth module, expensive, very strong blue tint, no white led - the chiros wrgb 2 pro and weak are suppose to be more neutral in spectrum)
hygger - the light balance is weird kind of a pain to setup - has ip68 and very cheap
onf - kind of expensive only fits rimless tank but i did get it to fit 40 breeder - only one size and not adjustable width but nice tone - kind of a specialize light if you don't hang it.
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lights i've not used but people recommend on low end
beamworks
current
(i have no reason to believe these are better or worse than the hygger - all come in multiple models with +/- features).
Anyway on the medium high-end my favorite light by far is the ai blade. I haven't found a low end light i like yet (i don't like the colour tones of the hygger or low end fluval) - i might give the jcp a try but i'm kind of picky about the quality of light. I have tried or own the following lights:
fluval plant 3.0 (tried lower end models - + strong enough, ip68, 3 year warranty - not super strong - slight yellow tint)
ai blade (no ip68, usually 1 year warranty, stronger tha fluval but not super strong)
ghl Lx7 series (pain in the ass to use, insanely expensive)
wrgb 2 (very strong, some reliablitity issues reported with blu-tooth module, expensive, very strong blue tint, no white led - the chiros wrgb 2 pro and weak are suppose to be more neutral in spectrum)
hygger - the light balance is weird kind of a pain to setup - has ip68 and very cheap
onf - kind of expensive only fits rimless tank but i did get it to fit 40 breeder - only one size and not adjustable width but nice tone - kind of a specialize light if you don't hang it.
-
lights i've not used but people recommend on low end
beamworks
current
(i have no reason to believe these are better or worse than the hygger - all come in multiple models with +/- features).
A nice run down on many lights, jake. You & dougall have probably tried out more lights than almost any of us & with more plant oriented tanks sometimes too.
I think the dawn & dusk simulation lights might be best for those (like you jake, lol) that have a dedicated fish room. I have high windows that, depending on my timers & time of year can do a "natural" gradual light effect.
It can also depend on the sensitivity of your fish. Jake's discus were way more nervous than my raised from little (inch?) discus fry. Mine were always ready for food, any time of day or lighting. I did try to keep them on a schedule of sorts but I'm not a good sleeper so neither were they, lol. My clown loaches were like that too...
So I guess it just depends on your fish, plants, tank room & finances. There isn't a "perfect" light for all. But that why AC can be helpful to narrow down choices.
I think the dawn & dusk simulation lights might be best for those (like you jake, lol) that have a dedicated fish room. I have high windows that, depending on my timers & time of year can do a "natural" gradual light effect.
It can also depend on the sensitivity of your fish. Jake's discus were way more nervous than my raised from little (inch?) discus fry. Mine were always ready for food, any time of day or lighting. I did try to keep them on a schedule of sorts but I'm not a good sleeper so neither were they, lol. My clown loaches were like that too...
So I guess it just depends on your fish, plants, tank room & finances. There isn't a "perfect" light for all. But that why AC can be helpful to narrow down choices.
I wouldn't worry too much about matching the old 36 watts. LED watts aren't really comparable to T5 watts, so the 1 watt per gallon rule doesn't mean much here.
For a 29 gallon freshwater tank, I'd look for a decent full-spectrum LED with adjustable brightness. If you have plants, the light you need depends a lot on what you're growing. Anubias, Java fern, and other low-light plants don't need nearly as much as demanding carpeting plants.
Since your old T5 has worked well for 20 years, you probably don't need anything fancy. A basic 24" adjustable LED should do the job, and you can start at lower brightness and increase it if needed.
One thing I'd pay attention to is the timer and whether the fixture fits securely on the tank. Around 7–8 hours of light is a reasonable starting point, especially if you're trying to avoid algae.
For a 29 gallon freshwater tank, I'd look for a decent full-spectrum LED with adjustable brightness. If you have plants, the light you need depends a lot on what you're growing. Anubias, Java fern, and other low-light plants don't need nearly as much as demanding carpeting plants.
Since your old T5 has worked well for 20 years, you probably don't need anything fancy. A basic 24" adjustable LED should do the job, and you can start at lower brightness and increase it if needed.
One thing I'd pay attention to is the timer and whether the fixture fits securely on the tank. Around 7–8 hours of light is a reasonable starting point, especially if you're trying to avoid algae.
Adjustable brightness is the bit I'd want too, way easier to dial back than fight an algae bloom after going full blast. The old watts-per-gallon rule really belongs with the T5 fixture.
