Will the 18-24" Aqueon LED fixture grow plants in a 16 gallon?

[FreshyFresh]

There's so many "fresh water plant" LED strip lights flooding the market now with little/no (usefull) specs on them, it's hard to say which will work well. I get overwhelmed every time I research the darn things.

 

[dereks]

Lumens doesn't necessarily mean it is good for growing plants either. Lumens is brightness as registered to the human eye. It's weighted to the spectrums that the human eye picks up best. What you really want is PAR value. PAR stands for Photosynthetically Available Radiation and is all light that can be used for photosynthesis.

If you want something with brighter light the new Coralife Aqualight S was just released. It's a brighter version of the Optibright but with a remote control with built in timer and color changing ability.

If I ask them what the PAR value is will they know what I'm talking about? I guess what I'm asking is what the the standard measuring unit for LED fixtures among the aquarist community when determining if a fixture is sufficient?

I mean technically kelvin and wattage don't matter but that's still how we ask when looking for T5 bulbs. Know what I mean?

 

[myswtsins]

It all kinda matters really but almost none of it independently can tell you if a fixture will work for sure, especially for LEDs. I am still learning about all of this LED stuff btw. But when looking for a fixture I tried to find out as much as I could about any one fixture. What I looked at was kelvin first(don't want a SW light) then par readings, if available, then wattage and how many leds there were plus of course any reviews. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Narwhal72]

dereks, If you ask Aqueon Tech and Warranty about the PAR value they will know what you are talking about. And then they will ask me for the data. I work in R&D for Aqueon.

Watts and Kelvin rating are really only relevant when comparing like types of lighting. i.e. Fluorescent to Fluorescent, Incandescent to Incandescent. When you start comparing different types of lighting it's no longer relevant.

An LED fixture that has separate channels for whites and blues will have different CCT ratings depending on whether the blue chips are turned on or off. Also white LED's are "binned" at a very wide range compared to fluorescent. A typical white LED has a CCT that may be +/-1000K compared to the average aggregate CCT of the batch.

 

[FreshyFresh]

I prefer Aqueon/Central Garden and Pet products based on the excellent customer service I've experienced with them, but the PAR ratings I've seen stated online for the Optibright fixtures seem low. Mid teens at 12" IIRC.

 

[Narwhal72]

You have to remember that it's an entry level fixture. It's not designed to be a great plant light. Just a light for the vast majority of aquarium keepers who keep mainly fish tanks.

PAR is going to peak at 24 right in the dead center. But mid teens would be just about right for an inch or two to either side.

If you want a brighter light for planted tanks the Coralife Aqualight S would be the better choice. It has about double the PAR of the Optibright and is roughly equivalent to the Current Satellite Plus.

 

[dereks]

It all kinda matters really but almost none of it independently can tell you if a fixture will work for sure, especially for LEDs.

I know what you mean, but I figured there were still recommendations, e.g. watts per gallon.

 

[FreshyFresh]

I know what you mean, but I figured there were still recommendations, e.g. watts per gallon.

Not so much with LEDs.