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LED lighting?

889 views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  tekkguy 
#1 ·
I feel stupid for not being able to find the information I'm seeking on google or searching these forums, But I feel like I have followed proper Forum protocol searching for days looking for the answer before I post.

I'm having trouble finding information on LED Lighting. It seems that most planted aquarium enthusiasts are using florescent lighting, but I really like the low profile of the LEDs, especially for the smaller aquariums. Even the manufacturers are quite short on information, even the ones that offer plant LED lighting, like Marineland.

I recently purchased the Beamworks 12" Reef Light for my 5 gallon tank. It has 9 LEDS that Put out at a 10,000K spectrim. I know for florescent lights its supposed to be 5,000 to 7,500k right? Is it different with LEDs. The light is supposed to be for reefs so I am hoping that it works well for my fresh water plants. I've resorted to a testing phase with 3 low light plants and I will add plants that require more light until something show signs of not enough light.

Can anyone enlighten me or point me in the right direction so that I can educate myself on this matter?
 
#2 ·
It will be fine.. it's more in the red spectrum than people tend to use, but that's not really a problem - plants can thrive under a wide range of color temps and visually you might find your plants look nicer color wise than they would under 6500k - which tend make things look a little yellowish.

I have an LED fixture with 7000k lights and it looks much cleaner and brighter than my tanks with 6500k.

My only concern though, since you have a reef light, is that you may actually have more light than your tank can handle without injecting CO2, which could lead to algae problems... if you start to see algae the simple solution is to reduce your lighting period or raise your light above the tank.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the quick reply. I read about the 10,000k spectum and how plants tend to thrive on more blues than reds, but I was concerned because I hadn't really scene much on LEDs. I figured that being a reef light it may produce more that needed for so few plants, but I'm hoping with the addition of more plants and my Zebra Nerite snail, the Algae will stay away. I just haven't purchased more plants because I wanted to make sure the light was suitable. With your confirmation, I might buy 2 or 3 more plants this weekend and see how it goes.
 
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