Led Lighting For Plant Growth

[NeonTetra97]

Hi everyone,
 
Just a quick question, I was wondering how suitable LED strip lights would be at supporting plant growth? I have two T8 tubes and want to boost the lighting so I can grow some more demanding plants, I also plan on adding CO2. Another benefit of these lights is they are dimmable and can show any colour so it will also serve as a moon light! If you've had experience with this type of light i'd love to hear your story!
 
Thanks
 
Here are the lights:
Amazon link 

 

[Freedom]

I have only LED lights on both my tanks.  My plants are doing well, they stretch up to the light, and I am pinching and replanting tips about once a month for the bacopa and water wisteria.  I bought the Aquatic Life Edge, which includes a ramp timer.  I do not use any CO2, I do use Flourish, Flourish Excel, and Trace.  So you don't need to ADD to the tube lights, you can totally replace them.
 
For DIY, this guy is very creative and has loads of vids related to aquaria.  This one is using the lights you have linked:
https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QSxJymRBak
 
Go for it!

 

[shrimply]

My experience with the strips hasn't been great tbh, I put a single meter strip of 60/m 5050 LEDs above my 4ft and the lighting was enough for night lighting but really not much else.
 
I've used them in vivariums without problem but they just don't penetrate water well in my experience, I mean you could probably use a lot mroe of them and get a decent amount of light, but I think there are probably better options. There are certainly much better and more powerful LED DIY options out there but I don't know enough about them to advise.

 

[Ciddire]

I use 2 x Current Satellite LED+ for my high light plants. I also use CO2

 

[NeonTetra97]

I have only LED lights on both my tanks.  My plants are doing well, they stretch up to the light, and I am pinching and replanting tips about once a month for the bacopa and water wisteria.  I bought the Aquatic Life Edge, which includes a ramp timer.  I do not use any CO2, I do use Flourish, Flourish Excel, and Trace.  So you don't need to ADD to the tube lights, you can totally replace them.
 
For DIY, this guy is very creative and has loads of vids related to aquaria.  This one is using the lights you have linked:
https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QSxJymRBak
 
Go for it!

Brilliant, sounds like I might try these as an upgrade, I have seen that video myself, and many others of his, he is so helpful! Could you tell me whats lights you have and are they the same kind that are used in the video? And the reason I will add to the current set up is for two reasons: 1, I can't be bothered to get a new canopy so they might as well stay 2, More T8 means I need less LED  
 
Shrimply, I have heard similar things and probably wouldn't want a full LED set up unless it was one of the proper systems from a company like Fluval, but they are so expensive! Im thinking this could be a cheap way to increase light output easily, worth a shot failing that at least I get a moonlight! 
 
Ciddire, sounds promising, I guess they are purpose built light units? And also what kind of Co2 are you using? DIY or pressurised? I'm planning on experimenting with the DIY systems at first, just to try and boost Co2 slightly, then maybe move on to something a little bit better in the future

 

[shrimply]

You can only try, and if you are anything like me you'll always be able to find a use for the LED strips if they fail in the aquarium - look great as TV or monitor backlighting . 
 
My main reason for buying them was to alter the viewing colour in the tank over and above the T8 which was very pinky and I wanted to introduce some blue to make a whiter light appearance.  It didn't work, when the T8 tube was on you definitely couldn't make out any of the light coming from the LED's at full brightness in any colour.
 
Let me know if you have more success though.

 

[NeonTetra97]

Will do Shrimply, and as you say, they won't go to waste even if my initial idea fails! I am now considering just getting a new T8 tube from Fluval, according to their site my tubes output about 500 lumen each and there is a tube available that puts out about 1300 lumen so might give that a go. Not sure really about the colour temperature though, currently im at about 18,000k and the knew tubes would be 4,000-5,000k. Not sure how the different colour temp would affect plant growth? I know higher light is good but is lower colour temp bad? :s All the articles I found about lighting on google seem to contradict each other! haha

 

[DrRob]

18,000K is very blue, that's a marine rig. 4000-5000K though is quite yellow light. Most aquarium lights tend to be around the 6500K, usually ranging between 5000 and 10,000K for tropical set ups. Personally I prefer the 10,000K end of the lighting spectrum unless I'm after a blackwater type look, but that's personal preference.
 
There are some new U series UP lights on the market recently that are quite reasonable in price and the Z series that they replace certainly wasn't bad. They're starting to put me of DIY'ing because I lack the time, rather than them being all that much better.
 
Lumens for plant purposes aren't all that much use, they tell you the apparent brightness to the human eye, which isn't of much use for comparing what makes plants grow, for example, grow lights in hydroponics never look all that bright, but the growth is spectacular.

 

[NeonTetra97]

Yea I do find the lights quite blue, they came with the 125L and have worked ok but its time for an upgrade I want to start keeping some more demanding plants. Are the lights you are talking about compatible with the T8 fixtures or would I need a new light rig?

 

[Alasse]

LEDs are very very popular here over planted tanks. Most high end plant keepers no longer use anything but LED's. So i can assure you they are more than capable of success over a planted tank

 

[NeonTetra97]

Some of the systems sold by the leading companies do look very impressive, I was wondering more if cheap LED strip lights would be up to the task, I guess if they are bright enough then why not? Like people said before its worth a shot! haha  

 

[DrRob]

Most sensible LED commercial sets are their own rig in a sealed unit. The issue with LED's is the quality of the electronics and current controllers really, if you want the longevity that they advertise, so a dedicated unit is a good idea.

 

[NeonTetra97]

Hmmm, certainly something I want to look into, the only thing is I don't really want to replace the canopy on the tank unless I have to  In a 125L tank how bright is 2900 lumen? Low, medium or high light? Or is that a stupid question? Ive heard watts per gallon is a bad measure of light strength, but I can't find any guides that use lumens.

 

[Freedom]

  Could you tell me whats lights you have and are they the same kind that are used in the video?

I do not; I learned about that vid and all the others he has, AFTER I bought my lights.
 
My 50 gallon has the Aqualife Edge, which comes with a ramp timer.  LOVE IT!  I have the daylight come on (with a 10 minute sunrise), remains on for 4 hours then shuts off (with a 10 minute sunset). 
 
During the second hour, the color comes on, again with the 10 minute rise, remains on 4 hours, then shuts off over a 10  minute period.
 
Nothing is on for 3 hours, then moonlight comes on for 3 hours. 
 
They do not make the Edge in a 30 inch so I could not get it for my 37 gallon. 

  So on that tank, I have the Aqueon modular LED, and bought a timer at Home Depot.  It works, my plants are fine, but nowhere near as nice as the Edge. 
 
I email Customer Service once a month and ask if they offer the Edge in a 30 inch, lol. 
 
My initial experience with LED was the Marineland submersible hidden LED 21 inch strip.  I really liked it so much that I worked on getting totally switched over to LED. 

 

[Ciddire]

Brilliant, sounds like I might try these as an upgrade, I have seen that video myself, and many others of his, he is so helpful! Could you tell me whats lights you have and are they the same kind that are used in the video? And the reason I will add to the current set up is for two reasons: 1, I can't be bothered to get a new canopy so they might as well stay 2, More T8 means I need less LED

 
 
 
Shrimply, I have heard similar things and probably wouldn't want a full LED set up unless it was one of the proper systems from a company like Fluval, but they are so expensive! Im thinking this could be a cheap way to increase light output easily, worth a shot

failing that at least I get a moonlight! 
 
Ciddire, sounds promising, I guess they are purpose built light units? And also what kind of Co2 are you using? DIY or pressurised? I'm planning on experimenting with the DIY systems at first, just to try and boost Co2 slightly, then maybe move on to something a little bit better in the future
 

 
Here's an article from the manufacturer about required plant brightness: http/current-usa.com/is-the-satellite-freshwater-led-plus-bright-enough/
 
I have a heavily planted 75 Gal & use 2 x of the 48" ones. I have glosso, hairgrass and baby tears, so far all are growing and spreading.
 
If you're planning on getting some of the high light requirement plants I suggest purchasing 2 x of the LEDs. I was able to sustain low growth with a single light but was not happy with the results. They're supposed to be releasing a new LED light system that's specific to plant growth, however, there's no ETA as of yet.
 
**ALSO**
I would not go high light WITHOUT a proper CO2 system. Algae growth will explode without proper CO2
 
I went with the Current LED system because it's cheaper than it's competitors for the same basic thing. They also have really good support via phone & Facebook.
 
I use a pressurized CO2 system, 5lbs CO2 w/ Aquatek Regulator. I have a ceramic diffuser which pumps into a powerhead for tank wide dispersion.
 
The most difficult thing about planted tanks IMO is figuring out the CO2 system. There's so many different opinions on brands that it's hard to make sense of anything. I went with the Aquatek per the recommendation of my LFS who uses it in their display tanks.
 
Prior to my 75 Gal tank I was using the Fluval 88G CO2 system on my 29 Gal (close to what you have) The system is a nice entry unit for small tanks. As long as you turn the system off at night, you should be able to get 1month per canister. They're sold in packs of 4 for around $30USD which is more expensive than filling a 5lbs CO2, but a lot easier. The initial cost of the unit is $60-80 and includes everything you need right out of the box.