LED Lighting

[amaramwhite]

I currently have a 10 gal planted aquarium. I am running a flourescent light setup as well. I'm thinking about switching to LED. Opinions on LED lighting? Does it make a difference with plants? Does it simply look nicer? ALL opinions welcome, please!

 

[abw0004]

I would say yes.

1. More energy efficient.
2. High powered lighting
3. You can get different color spectrums
4. Many have a timer built in

Will cost more however. That is the only downside. The two most popular brands are Finnex and Current.

 

[TMaier]

Definitely cooler too.

 

[Funken_A]

There are some very affordable goose neck type LED grow lights out there. Ammazon .com has many. For a 10 gallon these can provide plenty of light and only cost $30 give or take. Do some research but there are no shortage to cheap LEDs grow lights for a 10 gallon..

LEDs are powerful so its important to have the ability to either dim your light or raise and lower it to achieve light balance. Yes it will do wonders for plants. I run a full LED setup on my 30 gallon in my sig, and I have that light raised 14 inches above my water line to boot.



The most important part of LED lighting for plants is proper spectrums. The 4 peaks in the graph below should be represented in any lamp you purchase (not exact but ballpark close). Blues and reds