LED vs Fluorescent
- Thread starter FishDad
- Start date
see that seems rather complicated. say i get a 3mm LED at the 6000k range that runs off 3watts at .5mA. how would i figure out how much that gives off that would be used for photosynthesis? with florecents it's pretty simple. you have a comparative measurment with the wattage to how many gallons. with the LED spec i gave u i wouldn't know if 40 would be enough or 100 or maybe 10 is enough.
First, you won't find a 3mm LED that can handle that power unless that is how you are calling one of the surface mount LEDs.
Second, the complication with LEDs, is that they are rated in Lumens/watt. This optical efficiency is highly variable. sometimes by a factor of 4.
In truth, if it is this difficult early on, I'd highly suggest that you either get a kit, clone what someone else has done, or simply buy a fixture that is proven to work for your needs. There was a time when building your own LED light was highly advantageous because of cost. That isn't true any more. Commercial units can be had for pretty decent prices now.
Second, the complication with LEDs, is that they are rated in Lumens/watt. This optical efficiency is highly variable. sometimes by a factor of 4.
In truth, if it is this difficult early on, I'd highly suggest that you either get a kit, clone what someone else has done, or simply buy a fixture that is proven to work for your needs. There was a time when building your own LED light was highly advantageous because of cost. That isn't true any more. Commercial units can be had for pretty decent prices now.
FishDad,
See this thread:
LED Lighting Compendium
They cover 3 of the marineland LEDs with measured par ratings and at the top lists what par values you should aim for for different plant requirements.
See this thread:
LED Lighting Compendium
They cover 3 of the marineland LEDs with measured par ratings and at the top lists what par values you should aim for for different plant requirements.
Electrical Test Equipment, Aquarium Fish items in ledtoplights store on eBay!, this is where I get my LED's. I like the 19,000K and 12,000K with about a 70/30 mix. I also like to use a couple 445nm sometimes too but its just to bring out color of the fish. I get my Drivers, heat sink, and adhesive stickers from Rapid LED. They have everything but the ebay store has great prices on the LED's. On the eBay site He also had a good price on fixtures he will build to your needs.
Although LED's look good for a while, my sister had one for her goldfish tank and one night when she turned it off it started flickering and smoke started coming out of it. *thumbsdow Anyway, that light's been broken ever since, lasted about a month and was really expensive.
I'm going to try Flourescent for my new 37 gallon...is it good for growing plants?
I'm going to try Flourescent for my new 37 gallon...is it good for growing plants?
Put some fact with your posts. LED's only hold their true spectrum for about 10 years. Fluorescent bulbs only hold their true spectrum for about 6-12 months. Water or moisture failures cant be held against either light type. If it failed that fast there was an issue of some sort, either a moisture issue or poor quality of work in the unit or maybe something else. Over a ten year period the LED unit is a ton cheaper. Sure the LED is a bigger investment up front and either type could have some kind of unforeseen failure but, so could anything you buy.
Yep, I know mine has a 1yr warranty.
I'm thinking you could make your own 'double-bright' pretty easily if you wanted to brighten your basic LED hood. EBay (or the likes) has similar encapsulated China special LED strands for cheap. Similar concept to what's on my Top Fin LED hood:
Water Proof 12V 20LEDS2LED Module CoolWhite Fish Tank Pond Aquarium Submersible | eBay
Joel
I'm thinking you could make your own 'double-bright' pretty easily if you wanted to brighten your basic LED hood. EBay (or the likes) has similar encapsulated China special LED strands for cheap. Similar concept to what's on my Top Fin LED hood:
Water Proof 12V 20LEDS2LED Module CoolWhite Fish Tank Pond Aquarium Submersible | eBay
Joel
I think i will be sticking with t5 and t5ho bulbs till i can get a solid formula for an LED setup. i looked this weekend for plant rated LED hoods and for my 20 gallon and petsmart want 200 bucks and my more respecatable lfs with better products want 350+. just way to damn expensive. glad i aint looking at saltwater led. they want about 400 bucks for a coral rated led setup. but then again they have a 10 gallon salt tank for 500. 2500 if u take the coral they have in it lol.
This guy will custom build you any arrangement in the LED's he has for sale. I used the 19,000K on my 75G African tank along with two 445nm blue LED's and it looks great. Its really necessary to use at least 3 Watt LED's IMO. Also the Rapidled site has an instructional section called university that has DIY examples and how to's.