Led lights or tubes

[Stevenip5]

I have seen led lights and controllers in retail shops for silly money and others online for very reasonable amounts.
Is it the old adage you get what you pay for.
Or are retailers being a bit greedy.
the led lights on line clip to side of tank and you don't need a lid , apart from jumping fish is there any down sides to going lidless

 

[Delapool]

For planted tanks here there is sadly extra cost in lights (eg higher power intensity and features like dimmable).

 

[toolman]

Fish can also jump out with no top, recommend a glass versa top. Unfortunately if using live plants, most will want those expensive Led's. However my son keeps salt and pepper corys, platys and Java ferns with a strip light and no top.

 

[V227]

The clip on led lights I have seen aren't very bright and would be unsatisfactory for most fish keepers. There are reasonably priced quality led lighting systems available, even at the big box LFS's. I bought a Fluval aquasky led light for about 100 bucks from petco. It fits a 48"-60" tank and offers numerous settings and remote control. As for going without a lid. With proper motivation even bottom dwelling fish will jump out.

 

[dalto]

At the end of the day you need the right intensity of spectrum of light for your application.

Discount $10 led fixtures from ebay probably aren't going to provide that but there are plenty of diy or moderate cost alternatives out there if you look around.

You should start with figuring out what you want to do and what the light requirements for your application are.