Arcadia Led Lighting And Plants

[mattlee]

ive changed all of my tank lights over to the arcadia eco-aqua 1150mm LED tubes and now may be adding a few low light plants into the system. these light according to the literature on websites are 32W and >8k. the tank currently runs 2 of these lights but i have a 3rd spare available if it will help any.

does anyone here use the same lights with plants?

if so how do the get on?

i dont want to add ferts if poss so things like anubis and java ferns will be added.

ive also added a few echinodorus bleheri to try as i remember these working well before in a tank a few years ago without ferts. i may be remembering wrong but they are in now anyway....

the tank is 60x18x24 which is the reason i dont want to use ferts due to costs of it all unless anyone can help with that aspect of it

thanks, Matt.

 

[willsy]

ive changed all of my tank lights over to the arcadia eco-aqua 1150mm LED tubes and now may be adding a few low light plants into the system. these light according to the literature on websites are 32W and >8k. the tank currently runs 2 of these lights but i have a 3rd spare available if it will help any.

does anyone here use the same lights with plants?

if so how do the get on?

i dont want to add ferts if poss so things like anubis and java ferns will be added.

ive also added a few echinodorus bleheri to try as i remember these working well before in a tank a few years ago without ferts. i may be remembering wrong but they are in now anyway....

the tank is 60x18x24 which is the reason i dont want to use ferts due to costs of it all unless anyone can help with that aspect of it

thanks, Matt.

Hi Matt

Can I ask if you are getting on OK with these bulbs and low light plants? I was thinking about getting T8's for my new aquarium (to set up low tech, low light) but I'd prefer to get these Eco Aqua's as they make the fish stand out and look bright (as far as I could see in my local Maidenhead Aquatics).

Cheers,

Will.

 

[mattlee]

i have 2 x 1150mm daylight tubes and 1 x 1150mm tropical tube on my 5ft tank and the plants seem fine with it.

the eco-aqua lights do give nice ripple effect on the decor and substrate which gives it a more natural look and the fish do really stand out with them. the overall look is great and you can direct them anywhere in the tank instead of having light everywhere which can help if you need a more shaded area for catfish etc.

not the cheapest lights to buy but if they last longer like they should it should even out over time

 

[willsy]

i have 2 x 1150mm daylight tubes and 1 x 1150mm tropical tube on my 5ft tank and the plants seem fine with it.

the eco-aqua lights do give nice ripple effect on the decor and substrate which gives it a more natural look and the fish do really stand out with them. the overall look is great and you can direct them anywhere in the tank instead of having light everywhere which can help if you need a more shaded area for catfish etc.

not the cheapest lights to buy but if they last longer like they should it should even out over time

Thanks a lot for your reply Matt.

Sounds like exacly what I need I think. Was considering running 2 X T8's and 1 X Eco Aqua, but I suppose this would negate the advatages of LED. i.e. would wash out the ripple for starters!

mmmm... Think my mind has almost been made up to get 3 X LED tubes!

Cheers

Will.

 

[willsy]

i have 2 x 1150mm daylight tubes and 1 x 1150mm tropical tube on my 5ft tank and the plants seem fine with it.

the eco-aqua lights do give nice ripple effect on the decor and substrate which gives it a more natural look and the fish do really stand out with them. the overall look is great and you can direct them anywhere in the tank instead of having light everywhere which can help if you need a more shaded area for catfish etc.

not the cheapest lights to buy but if they last longer like they should it should even out over time

Hi Matt

One last question... With your experience of these lights, would you recommend to buy these LED's or would you recommend T8's (or possibly a mixture of both) i.e. 2 X T8's and 1 X Eco Aqua (for some effect).

Cheers

Will

 

[mattlee]

the eco-aqua led's are a different light to the T8 and T5's. they are not as bright and give a nice brightness to the tank instead of a silly bright tank....

mixing them will probably ruin the ripple effect that the led's give to the tank but ive never tried it so cant be 100% on that. the led are also a direct light so can be turned to light any part of the tank. i had a single tube on a 5x2x2 at the back and angled it down towards the front of the tank and it gave a kind of sunshine effect and looked really good

i like the led lights as the seem to be less in your face and do give off the colours on the fish well. i would get a mix of the tropical and daylight for best effect.

 

[willsy]

the eco-aqua led's are a different light to the T8 and T5's. they are not as bright and give a nice brightness to the tank instead of a silly bright tank....

mixing them will probably ruin the ripple effect that the led's give to the tank but ive never tried it so cant be 100% on that. the led are also a direct light so can be turned to light any part of the tank. i had a single tube on a 5x2x2 at the back and angled it down towards the front of the tank and it gave a kind of sunshine effect and looked really good

i like the led lights as the seem to be less in your face and do give off the colours on the fish well. i would get a mix of the tropical and daylight for best effect.

Thanks for your reply Matt. After weighing it up, I've ordered 1 X tropical and 2 X daylight of the eco-aqua's. They fit the bill perfectly. i.e. Being low light T8 replacements and I'm setting up a low tech low light tank. The bonus being that everything has more clarity. I always wondered why the fish in my local Maidenhead Aquatics were so vibrant and bright. I found out that they are using these to light their tanks!

I'll post some pics and maybe some sort of review of these once I've had them for a while!