Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Peter on December 24, 2012 at 12:37pm

it depends on the quality of the LED system u get. Most of the good 1s are really expensive atm

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Permalink Reply by Brad Dewys on November 4, 2013 at 10:34pm

Any new info on this now, the pet store folks (I like these ones and they are in to the hobby) say that the new LED's that came out this past summer are worth it.

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Permalink Reply by Suzanne Hedges on November 6, 2013 at 9:16am

I will be very interested in all the replies to  this. I'm a manager at petco and newly bitten by the dirt bug. I have just dirted a 55,30,& a 5 for my betta. I sit in front of them and just watch...no fish in them yet. My point...petco is going from kits with bulbs to what looks like all led. Sence I share with everyone MY dirt passion I want..no need to know the answer to this before I encourage anyone to spend that kind of money. I pray the prices go down after the newness wears off. Even with a discount I won't buy them. And I assume the kits have the cheap leds.

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Permalink Reply by alex9j4m on November 7, 2013 at 3:34pm

Finnex Ray 2 7000K Led. They are amazing. Plus they are good price at about 140 for a 48" strip its about the same price as a decent dual 48"T5HO, and you don't have to pay the 40 dollars a year to change the bulbs and almost no electricity costs. Theres some tests out there you can look up on them, they have extremely good PAR ratings and most of the time people find them almost to strong for their tanks. Anyway I would definitely recommend them, I have them on my 180 gal and they work great, give off a great color and you can grab them for a low price.

You can check out the growth its given me here, I havent updated in about 2 months so I'll try to get a new pic up today. http://fishtanktv.com/profiles/blogs/180-gallon-planted-tank

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Permalink Reply by Brad Dewys on November 9, 2013 at 5:26pm

sweet thanks I'll check them out, tank looks great by the way, I'm looking to end up with something like that

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Permalink Reply by J on November 10, 2013 at 4:08am

http://fishtanktv.com/video/chinese-165w-leds-blues-off-freshwater-...

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Permalink Reply by Brad Dewys on November 10, 2013 at 10:28am

chec

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Permalink Reply by DePreston on November 10, 2013 at 2:49pm

I have 2 48 inch 6500K lights running about 8 hours a day and the plants in my 90 are growing like a forest.  I have to go in there every 2 weeks and clear cut paths for the fish to swim through, which I am about to do now.  I had some LEDs and they did not work well at all, plenty expensive too.

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Permalink Reply by Chuck P on November 12, 2013 at 4:50pm

I bought a Reefbrite LED Daylight (8000 kelvin) for my tank and I'm very pleased.  Yes it was expensive but I'm saving every month with lower electric bills.  The plants are doing very well too.  There is an added light attribute that some refer to "shimmering" in the water that looks really sweet.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Jango on November 13, 2013 at 2:27am

Its all the same crap. Look for a daylight color spectrum (5000K - 7000K) and at least 5 lumens/sq inch of surface area. I'm told LEDs save in electricity costs over a long period of time but there so damn expensive I really don't see the savings. And I also wonder about the claims of longevity. Its sad but I automatically assume the manufacturers (probably an American/Communist partnership based somewhere in Red China) are a bunch of lying sleazeballs.

Do you know what a lamp would cost that has the exact same quality as sunlight? The answer is somewhere in the tens of thousands of dollars. That's right the best light BY FAR is sunlight and its free. You think Dustin built a greenhouse because he's stupid?

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Permalink Reply by J on November 13, 2013 at 7:43pm

If you look at the link I posted it is for a 165w led for 150$ shipped. This is cheaper than my old t5 bulb replacement would have been and no more mercury pollution since no one recycles them. While they aren't the Cree LEDs from America they are name brand bridgelux LEDs. Also for LEDs more than the spectrum matters, the .2 w LEDs don't do anything for plants but a 3w led with optics can priced insane amounts of par at depths other lights can't. Also with optics light barely hits the glass so much less cleaning

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Permalink Reply by Robert Jango on November 15, 2013 at 11:47am

I don't know if its true but at least you've offered up some solid info Jeff.

I remember when CDs came out there was lots of "science" that said this digital technology was superior to LPs (Wax records). 20 years later it turns out not to be true. In fact, LPs contain more info and therefore sound better. Do you think the false claims and blatant lies had something to do with to the hundreds of billions of dollars in profit that came from foisting this crap on an unsuspecting public? The hype never ends my friend - not in the news and not in advertising. 

Right off the bat, I can say the "optics" for other types of lighting can be adjusted so that they don't hit the glass. And a strong florescent light can reach down two feet easily. How deep is your tank? I also know that colors in the light spectrum only travel so far through water. Certain colors penetrate just a few inches and ultra violets can go forever. 

Believe me, I'm examining this LED phenomenon carefully. I'm not some crank. But I'll take what I hear from you and others and find out what the real scientists say. Good information is not free. Advertising and Cancer is free.

Long live the sun.

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