Lighting

[vader71]

Looking at lighting alot has changed since I had a tank with T8 lamps. There seem to be MANY options for LED lights and I dont know what is good and bad about them. What to get vs. what to avoid.

To me it is clear the LED style is the way to go as you will have good light output for most of my lifetime, but making sure its the right wavelength and strength are concerns.

Looking to do freshwater with the ability to do a planted tank.

Looking for opinion and advice.

Thanks!

[troy tucker]

Lights have changed a bit. LED. light are the way to go. I still haven't up graded all my tanks. I have some cheep LED.s on my dark water tank but they will not support plants. They do make them that will. I just can't afford them.

[ptran]

Agreed that LED is the way to go. I bought a couple LED lights from Aquatrader.com. They have some decent light for reasonable price.

[Austy16414]

LEDs all the way. You can get a fixture with more diodes at less wattage (more distributed light) or less diodes at higher wattage (concentrated, shimmer light). Lumens are the measure of brightness, but there's different kinds of bright. As far as the Kelvin scale goes, this can be adjusted with the addition of different color diodes (for your planted tank, you would most likely have a mixture of red, white, and blue diodes)

[Beth777]

I find all the info on LED's to be overwhelming. Like you, I never know which way to go, but these guys will steer you right.

Looking at lighting alot has changed since I had a tank with T8 lamps. There seem to be MANY options for LED lights and I dont know what is good and bad about them. What to get vs. what to avoid.

To me it is clear the LED style is the way to go as you will have good light output for most of my lifetime, but making sure its the right wavelength and strength are concerns.

Looking to do freshwater with the ability to do a planted tank.

Looking for opinion and advice.

Thanks!

[Beth777]

Great information there!

LEDs all the way. You can get a fixture with more diodes at less wattage (more distributed light) or less diodes at higher wattage (concentrated, shimmer light). Lumens are the measure of brightness, but there's different kinds of bright. As far as the Kelvin scale goes, this can be adjusted with the addition of different color diodes (for your planted tank, you would most likely have a mixture of red, white, and blue diodes)

[vader71]

It is definitely a huge topic thats not simple. Looks like I will be studying up for a while before I purchase anything.

[ptran]

One of the advantages of LED lights is they can be used with dimmer. It allows me to dim the light way low for my Moba tank. Love it and the Moba love it too.