Aquarium Forum
 


Menu
  · Tropical Fish Home
· Fish News
· Aquarium Forum
· Buy & Sell
· Calculators
· Equipment reviews
· Free Aquarium Ebook
· Feedback
· Link to us
· Photo gallery
· Plant species
· Tropica Plant DB
Tropical fish species
· By Common name
· By Scientific name
Tropical Marine fish
· By Common name
· By Scientific name

_________________
 
      
        Via paypal

  AC news is a part of
      Nature Blog Network

      Reef Aquarium Blog

Privacy & Ad Policy

Articles
  · African Cichlids
· Algae Control
· Aquarium Decoration
· Aquarium Resources
· Aquatic Plants
· Barb Fish
· Betta Fish
· Breeding Fish
· Catfish
· Central American Cichlids
· Cichlids
· Clownfish
· Corals
· Corydoras Catfish
· Discus Fish
· Dwarf Cichlids
· Fish Diseases
· Frogs and Turtles
· Goby Fish
· Goldfish
· Gourami
· Invertebrates
· Jellyfish
· Killiefish
· Lake Victoria Cichlids
· Livebearers
· Malawi Cichlids
· Marine Aquariums
· Marine Aquarium Fish
· Other Fish
· Pleco
· Predatory Fish
· Photography
· Pond Fish
· Responsible Fish Keeping
· Rainbow Fish
· Shark Fish
· South American Cichlids
· Tanganyika Cichlids
· Tetra Fish
· Tropical Fish Food
Results 1 to 3 of 3
  1. Cool LED 20gal planted: Commercial vs. DIY options

    I've searched and read through lots of posts, but I still have some questions about my options for adding LED lighting to my 20gal Marineland kit that will support high light plants. Ideally I'd like to find high output LED strips that I could add to the inside of my existing hood, so I don't have to get a new cover as well. As I understand it my options are:

    Commercial fixture
    The Marineland Reef LED light
    Pros: Relatively inexpensive at $215 for the 24-36 model, 1 year warranty
    Cons: Can't use existing hood, all lights on single switch

    DIY fixture
    Aqua Style sells this DIY LED Kit
    Pros: Inexpensive at ~$85-100, can separate power for different colors allowing for use with timers
    Cons: Can't use existing hood, more work including assembly and waterproofing, unclear on warranty of parts

    Supplement existing lighting with additional LED strips/fixtures
    LEDs from American Aquarium Products (looks to be overkill for my 20 gal tank...)
    Smaller Aqua Style LED units
    Pros: May be able to use existing hood, can be inexpensive
    Cons: More work including assembly and waterproofing, unclear on warranty of parts

    Are there other options (especially for supplementing my hood's existing lighting) that I've missed? Any recommendations are much appreciated!
    20g high planted community tank - 10 green neon tetras, 2 guppies, nerite and malaysian trumpet snails, amano shrimp, sand substrate

  2. Default

    UPDATE

    I found Ecoxotic LED lights that appear to be exactly what I'm looking for. I want to keep the cost down (this is already going to cost more than I paid for my entire aquarium kit!) so I'm going to pick one LED light strip (12" or 24") for my planted 20 gal.

    Do I want any blue LEDs or just white LEDs in the strip? I don't use the light at night, only during the day so I don't care about moonlight effects I just want optimal plant growth LEDs.

    Also for the white LEDs should I get 8k or 12k?
    20g high planted community tank - 10 green neon tetras, 2 guppies, nerite and malaysian trumpet snails, amano shrimp, sand substrate

  3. Default

    For growing plants 8000K is going to be better. Natural sunlight is about 6500K, that's what plants would be getting in the wild.
    Last edited by hyp0r; 01-17-2012 at 06:51 PM.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •