Fluorescent vs. LED

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

TheGuppyGirl

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jul 26, 2012
Messages
129
Location
Wisconsin
I'm going to be setting up a planted tank with red ludwigia, amazon sword, and java fern just to name a few. My question is, will all these plants do better under fluorescent bulbs or could I use LEDs?


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
LED vs Florescent is mostly about the human factor. Both can provide plenty of light for plants, both can provide reasonable spectrum.

LED's can have a lot more flexibility, such as varying colors, special effects (storms, etc.), fading in and out (most florescents cannot dim, but you can turn some tubes off if more than one). LED's are generally much smaller, much more efficent, and last (nearly) forever - florescent need to be changed 1-2 times a year to keep their spectrum usable (you can't just run them until they burn out without lost growth potential). Because they are more efficient, they do not add as much heat to the tank (especially helpful if your room temperature is near/above your desired tank temperature).

LED's are more expensive, generally, though coming down in price all the time.
 
Back
Top Bottom