L.e.d

[bettanoob]

Just a question on L.E.D lighting and plants..
i recently spoke to my lps who said the led lights are ok for live plants and a friend of mine said he wasnt sure if there would be enough levels of light coming from them to sustain plant life (or as he said was not sure if the plants would do well) and i was wondering if any one had some advice?
currently i have 2 meters of white led and about 70cm of blue led at work in my tank

 

[minnnt]

All depends on the plants you keep and the type of L.E.D. lights that you are using. High output style ones are great, but the cheap and nasty ones from ebay will not be powerful enough imo.

 

[mike455555]

there costy tho?... the high output ones.
your better off with t5 imo ?

you probably could grow plants under it. give it ago?

 

[SuperColey1]

there costy tho?... the high output ones.
your better off with t5 imo ?

you probably could grow plants under it. give it ago?

Not costly at all. Short term yes they will cost you double a T5 rig. Long term they will save you on the electricity by a massive margin and the lifespan is 3x as long. Therefore they are actually cheaper

For example 40W of high power LED will give you the PAR of 60-80W flourescent. Already you are saving 33-50% of the electricity usage or the stated wattage.

Then take into account that they run much more efficiently which means to power 40W of LED there will be less wastage on top of the 40W than its flourescent equivalent. Another saving on the electricity. an 18W tube takes more than 18W to run!! A 3W LED takes more than 3W to run. That is how much power needs to be delivered to the light output. The ballast/driver will use some electricity and also waste some electricity etc.

Then take into account that LEDs emit all their light sideways and down. flourescents need reflectors to redirect the light that is going upwards and sideways. they do not redirect all of that light so some light is lost there

LED lenses focus the light directly down so you lose minimal amounts of light. That means that you can use less again to get the same PAR because you aren't wasting as much. More electricity savings.

Then you take into account flourescents emit some UV which is unusable to life where LEDs don't. Again means you don't have to use as much.

Finally with T5 on an electronic ballast you need to be changing your tubes around the 2-3 year mark. LEDs will last 7-10 years before you have to replace them

HOWEVER the OPs question regarding the light strips. They are not high power LEDs. They wouldn't work for an awuarium situation other than mood lighting.

Andy

 

[bettanoob]

thanks for the help i was planning to stick in plants mostly for cover (not to fussed if they dont grow fast just survive enough) the amount of light i get off of the few meters i have is huge it penetrates the full depth of the tank also

ofc i dont want my plants to die but i dont have a need for them to thrive

 

[SuperColey1]

they'll be fine for easy plants and just a few. Not for full on plated with some difficult plants

So go for it.

Note: Don't confuse brightness with light. The amount of brightness they give of is huge should be your statement. That is Lumens. The amount of PAR is the light and they are 2 seperate things.

Brightness (Lumens) is how bright light looks to the human eye. Doesn't equate to how much light there actually is. i.e. red light looks duller than white light to our eyes. However it can actually be more light than a white light that we see as brighter.

So go for it (and post up reports so others can see if they work at all. I think they will for your purpose.

 

[bettanoob]

Thanks I will give it a go a keep posted over the next few months