Would these LED strips be useful?

[Alan79]

Hi all
I was looking through the Bunnings online catalogue and saw some LED light strips that might be just what i need. I have 18 watts at the moment for 20G tanks with flourescent lights. The LED light strips aredescribed like this

• Energy efficient, bright, LED light source
• Safe 12V d.c. low voltage power supply. 8.8W per meter
• 4x 300mm silicon coated, splash proof self-adhesive flex strips for easy DIY installation. Plug-in connectors for variable length
• Program Controller with wireless Infra Red remote controller
• Ideal for festive lighting, display cabinets and signs

this is the link.
Nelson 8.8W LED Strip Light - Red/Green/Blue NEL-LEDSPRGB I/N 7071130 | Bunnings Warehouse

The 8.8W would get me towards 3 watts per gallon. Supposedly the RGB is helpful too. I just don't know if these would be good for an aquarium or are just trinkets to pretty up window settings. I kind of get that opinion from what i read but i know very little about lighting. If these sound reasonable I will buy a pack and add them over a tank. Can someone in the know about lighting give me a better idea of whether they are worth trying.

 

[Rivercats]

Plants don't use green light and there just isn't much info on the lights. But for that price there are some other Led's that do work well for planted tanks that are close to that price. Brian_Nano12g is the person to ask since he's kind of the Led go to guy! I'd drop him a PM and see what he thinks.

 

[sodbuster95]

If you are looking at lighting for a planted tank, the watts-per-gallon rule is all but useless when it comes to LED lighting. What you really need to know is the PAR value (search PAR and you'll find out what that means - in a nutshell, it's the amount of light that a plant can use for photosythesis. This is not the same as the brightness). My guess is that these aren't going to do much (if anything) for plants.

More importantly, though, I'd be concerned about using this light on a fish tank as it does not appear to be made for that purpose. Even in the hood, there is a lot of moisture involved and the light strips will get wet. I would not want a light fixture over a tank that can't handle that.

As far as what you *should* use...that hard to say. There are plenty of LED options available, but you can spend $50 or $500; it all depends on what kind of tank you have and what you want.