LEDs to grow plants, not spook Tanganyikans!

[number6]

I have some Ectodus

decampsi over a bed of aragonite. In one corner of the tank I like to keep a nice large crypt to

make sure any harassed fish has somewhere soft to shoot into... it also helps water quality!



As part of a salt water tank experiment, I'm testing some LED grow lights Solar Oasis (http://www.solaroasis.com). I had a spare light and so

decided to borrow it to put over top of the crypt. All I can say is wow.... I replaced a 36W

retrofit kit with polished aluminum reflector with one LED bar. The LED bar puts out about 45

microeinsteins of light so yes it was a light upgrade. But still, the results were impressive.

The crypt had a slight algae problem of algae on the leaves. That has all but dissappeared.

New growth has been the high light version of this crypt... the added side benefit is the effect on

the Tanganyikans. These fish have never liked bright lights and used to avoidn that area of the

tank with the lights.

Since switching to LED the fish will happily use the entire tank.



Now the LED grow light has a very red overall colour scheme so I added a GE under

cabinet 5 white LED light to fix the overall colour of the tank.

With thousands upon

thousands of hours on an LED lifespan... I don't think I'll have to buy another light bulb

again!

Worth looking into!

[JustRon]

Do you have any pics?

[fishmaven]

<!--quoteo

(post=2041:date=Aug 4 2006, 03:10 PM:name=number6)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(number6

@ Aug 4 2006, 03:10 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2041"><{POST_SNAPBACK}

></a></div><div class='quotemain'>I have some Ectodus decampsi over a bed of

aragonite. In one corner of the tank I like to keep a nice large crypt to make sure any harassed

fish has somewhere soft to shoot into... it also helps water quality!

As part of a

salt water tank experiment, I'm testing some LED grow lights ...

Worth looking

into!</div>

While I don't share your love of

hang-on-the-tankback filters (I'd be willing to "discuss" the subject in another

thread), I'm very interested in this. Lighting is something very much misunderstood and with

sparse good information available. Most things you see are little more than sales pitch for a

product that's "better than anything else on the market" with no stats to back up the

opinion. If you have a good understanding about the subject, maybe you could share your thoughts

with the rest of us. I'd really like to see something in print about what's out there for

hobbyists followed by some sort of review of the available products. I'd even pay for such

info. Maybe you should consider an e-book on the topic. Said article, if it were posted here,

should include links to manufacturers sites and suggested retail prices. I'd avoid mentioning

sales outlets. Once the availability of the product and it's worth to the individual is known,

interested parties can look for it on their own. In your e-book, you could do whatever you want.



Most of the manufacturers would be willing to provide bulbs for evaluation for such a

project. Hagen, Coral Life, Zoo Med would be some options.

Could you edit your post and

change the website of the manufacturer to a link? Dan

[number6]

Will add pics http://cichlid.ipbhost.com/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif

Dan, I'll happily get a nice

topic on the go on lighting. There's def. an article worth of stuff stuck in my head.

A cichlid tank (even bare bottom ones) without live plants is a crying shame in my honest

opinion. Over the years I've gone from painted white hoods with normal output fluorescent

lights to building my own annolux reflectors and overdriving bulbs. I've bought, and studied

bulbs of every Kelvin rating out there, measured output and actually (finally) understand PAR and

microeinsteins of light vs lumens or watts!

The LED experiments are my latest and

hopefully greatest experiment with lights.

Will post more later!

[fishmaven]

<!--quoteo

(post=2090:date=Aug 5 2006, 01:22 PM:name=number6)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(number6

@ Aug 5 2006, 01:22 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2090"><{POST_SNAPBACK}

></a></div><div class='quotemain'>Will add pics http://cichlid.ipbhost.com/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif

Dan, I'll happily get a nice

topic on the go on lighting. There's def. an article worth of stuff stuck in my head.

A cichlid tank (even bare bottom ones) without live plants is a crying shame in my honest

opinion. Over the years I've gone from painted white hoods with normal output fluorescent

lights to building my own annolux reflectors and overdriving bulbs. I've bought, and studied

bulbs of every Kelvin rating out there, measured output and actually (finally) understand PAR and

microeinsteins of light vs lumens or watts!

The LED experiments are my latest and

hopefully greatest experiment with lights.

Will post more later!<!--QuoteEnd--

></div>
Please include a glossary with your posting. I've sold aquarium

bulbs for over 30 years and didn't understand most of your last paragraph. Beyond wattage, CRI,

diameter and length I'm lost. Kelvin ratings I've seen conflict with one another. Looking

at the offerings of Hagen, for instance, I can tell you the bulbs I like and why. I can tell you

the ones I don't care for. I see no purpose for the rest, other than to fill their rack.

It's always been easier for me to sell the things I like, so, when the rack comes in, you might

as well chop the price of the ones you know you'll get stuck with.

Best definitive

description on lighting I've seen... the Granger catalog. Dan