LED Lights for Planted tanks?

I've been looking into switching to LED's for my tank but I've seen some mixed reviews and Im not sure which brand is best. Does anyone here use LED's on their planted tanks? what brand are you guys using? and if you guys have pictures please post them!

I run LEDs on every tank in the store basically. I think they're great when you get the right ones.

Finnex - I currently use these and they get great reviews on plantedtank.
Aquatop - Made at the same manufacturer as Finnex, less size options and more expensive.
Current - Remote control is kinda neat and different modes. Low-mid light only.
Beamworks aka ebay leds - decent but use too much power and the optics are bad.
Marineland - Avoid like the plague
Fluval LED- I havent used one of these yet. Supposed to be good but expensive.

I was looking at the Fluval LEDs at Petco today. Hopefully someone else has used them and can chime in.

I'm testing 10'' & 12'' Finnex Fuge Rays on 2 of my nano tanks. I've had them for 2-3 months and find that they really give a nice ''sharp'' bright look to the tanks. People that look at them love the effect.

Beyond that, they are working well in supporting the plant growth nicely, which is what I purchased them for. Cory's advice was spot on for me purchasing these from him. So I would surmise that if the small ones work for their intended tank size, the larger ones would too.

MorganEA wrote:I was looking at the Fluval LEDs at Petco today. Hopefully someone else has used them and can chime in.

I checked out Fluval LED for freshwater planted while doing research before a buy. They get great reviews but like Cory said "expensive". They remind me of the new FENNEX RAY PLANTED that's coming out with the multi colored LED's. The 4 foot Fluval I was looking at was $400 compared to FENNEX RAY2 at $200. Besides the price difference I was worried the FLUVAL would have been to much light.

fishloverRon wrote:I'm testing 10'' & 12'' Finnex Fuge Rays on 2 of my nano tanks.  I've had them for 2-3 months and find that they really give a nice ''sharp'' bright look to the tanks. People that look at them love the effect.

Beyond that, they are working well in supporting the plant growth nicely, which is what I purchased them for.  Cory's advice was spot on for me purchasing these from him. So I would surmise that if the small ones work for their intended tank size, the larger ones would too.

 
I too am testing the 24" RAY, 30" and 48" RAY2. The light is a bit much on my 10 gal, and 30 but I am hanging in there trying to get it all balanced. The 48" RAY2 is supporting T5ho on a 7 foot tank. I am getting great growth on the back ground plants these LED's are directed on!

Floating plants could reduce the light hitting the plants if you want that fishinabowl.

That's the one thing I'm most worried about is too much light, Also do the colors seem natural? I bought a new full spectrum florescent bulb today and everything looked green  

fishloverRon wrote:Floating plants could reduce the light hitting the plants if you want that fishinabowl.

I do have Salvinia & pulled out 80% of it & shouldn't have...

Sorry about the thread detour Megan

MorganEA wrote:That's the one thing I'm most worried about is too much light, Also do the colors seem natural? I bought a new full spectrum florescent bulb today and everything looked green  

I noticed a reddish hugh in lighting on the FLUVAL for planted tanks but not enough to sway a purchase choice.  The FENNEX RAY is a natural white light. RAY 2 about the same but I would have to say gives off just a little yellow. That's the difference between 10,000K & 7,000K. But the difference is nearly unnoticeable. But yeah, looks natural.

Do you have pictures of your tanks? It was so weird to see my tank that green.

24" FENNEX RAY 9.5 gallon
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The illumination in the water is AFTER it goes through a layer of floating plants. Without the floaters all the plants in this tank pearl like crazy. Then I get some algae issues. So I keep floating plants in this tank all the time!

32" FENNEX RAY 2 on a 30 gallon. Sorry not a very good picture but you can see the illumination...
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I have only half my 140 illuminated by LED RAY2's so I don't know if you want to see pictures. But I do like them so I will be fully converting in the near future!
This 1st picture of the African fern & Red root floaters has a 4 foot RAY2 less than 5 inches above them..
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This background plant is illuminated by that same 4' fixture...
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The background plant is over 2' tall with a RAY2 right above it.
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Additional lighting is provided in this tank is a 4' and 3' duel T5HO that runs the length of a 7 foot tank. My LEDS are running on the backside of the T5HO's. These will probably be replaced by FENNEX RAY for PLANTED TANKS.

Those look good!

MorganEA wrote:Those look good!

Thank you. I have been really impressed with these fixtures. I took the time to research different manufactures & consulted with a couple ppl that knew quite a bit about planted tanks and LED lighting before making the choice of purchase. To be honest I still know very little about LED lighting and rely mostly on what I see to make decisions when it comes to lighting. What was nice is at the store where I purchased these they where using these lights on all their tanks. All the tanks had plants that looked nice. And the tanks designated for plants only where pearling.

the science of getting the correct wave lengths and color is so confusing!! that's why I decided to ask people on here, if it seems to be working for you guys then I don't feel as bad spending that much cash on a light  

The conventional wisdom is that plans do best with light somewhere around the 6700K range. I've been using 6500K CFL bulbs from Lowes for many years now, along with 6700K T5HO bulbs.

The Finnex Fuge Ray LED fixtures use 7000K LEDs with with a few blue "moonlight" LEDs.

The Finnex Ray2 LED fixtures come in a couple of different colors - 10000K/Actinic (better suited to reef lighting) and 7000K for plants. The Ray2 puts out about 50% more light than the Fuge Ray does.

I have a new Fuge Ray 20" (10W) over one of my 10g tanks and it easily out-lights the 2 13W 6500K CFL bulbs I had over the tank previously. It's noticeably whiter as well - but still the right color range.

I'll be getting another Finnex LED fixture soon for my 29g, though I'm not sure if I'm going to go with a Ray2 or not, due to the extra depth. For 30" tank sizes the Fuge Ray is 15W and the Ray2 is 20W.

I have a Fluval LED that I was using for my bookshelf tank, but I was getting a lot of algae problems so I switched it out for something less intense. I'll probably use it for a larger tank, seems like it will work well.

I'm probably gonna get the new finnex LED to replace my T5HOs for my 75 gal after the holidays

Lamental Jester wrote:I have a Fluval LED that I was using for my bookshelf tank, but I was getting a lot of algae problems so I switched it out for something less intense.  I'll probably use it for a larger tank, seems like it will work well.

I'm probably gonna get the new finnex LED to replace my T5HOs for my 75 gal after the holidays

When I seen the FLUVAL for planted tanks someone flipped it up into my eyes. I thought i was being buzzed by an alien starship or something. It had SO MANY lights & all different colors, blues, red, white , dang bright!

fishNAbowl wrote:When I seen the FLUVAL for planted tanks someone flipped it up into my eyes. I thought i was being buzzed by an alien starship or something. It had SO MANY lights & all different colors, blues, red, white , dang bright!

Yes, it is very bright... way too bright for my little bookshelf tank, I'm gonna be using it for a 15 tall in the near future

which Fluval was it Lamental Jester?

I believe I have the "Eco-bright" one:

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Honest best bet, would be cory's finnex's. good price and closer.

I wish Cory's shop was closer! I live south of Seattle

MorganEA wrote:I wish Cory's shop was closer! I live south of Seattle

A car is an amazing thing

It is but gas costs an arm and a leg!! I've been driving on an empty tank all day!! I'm going to do more research, if I decide to get the finnex I will drive up there.

I hear Cory is donating one to the swap meet You could go for that. Or other members may be willing to drive it down for a ransom (I'm heading down south Thursday)

That would be awesome if I could win one at the swap!

I just got a Beamswork 48" dual row 36x3watt light and it's pretty cool. It was $129 shipped from Topdogsellers on Ebay. The power supply does get a little warmer than I thought it would but the light is great. Looking forward to seeing how the plants do with this light.

Yeah, is it 72 or 36 leds? At 36 leds that fixture uses 108 watts of power. The same as 2 54 watt t5HOs. Not much power savings but you do get the shimmer effect  

It's the 36. I was using a single T8 bulb, and the ballast on that got very warm. Heat = wasted electrons. I have to think that I'm getting a more efficient use of my energy now, though total power use is probably more.

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:I run LEDs on every tank in the store basically. I think they're great when you get the right ones.

Finnex - I currently use these and they get great reviews on plantedtank.
Aquatop - Made at the same manufacturer as Finnex, less size options and more expensive.
Current - Remote control is kinda neat and different modes. Low-mid light only.
Beamworks aka ebay leds - decent but use too much power and the optics are bad.
Marineland - Avoid like the plague
Fluval LED- I havent used one of these yet. Supposed to be good but expensive.

I use Beamswork and never had any problem for me. i had it running for more than a year now. and now that they improve the built already, i dont think its going to be an issue.

WhosUrDadi wrote:

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:I run LEDs on every tank in the store basically. I think they're great when you get the right ones.

Finnex - I currently use these and they get great reviews on plantedtank.
Aquatop - Made at the same manufacturer as Finnex, less size options and more expensive.
Current - Remote control is kinda neat and different modes. Low-mid light only.
Beamworks aka ebay leds - decent but use too much power and the optics are bad.
Marineland - Avoid like the plague
Fluval LED- I havent used one of these yet. Supposed to be good but expensive.

I use Beamswork and never had any problem for me. i had it running for more than a year now. and now that they improve the built already, i dont think its going to be an issue.

By optics being bad I mean the optic put onto the led makes it shoot straight down instead of a spread. So you get columns of light directly under the leds as opposed to it spreading out and giving even coverage over the plants etc.

Comparison shot. My camera is set to auto and adjusts the ambient brightness on its own, but you get the idea.

Original setup with stock 36" hood and single T8 bulb:

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New setup with 48" LED:

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I've had the LED running for under a week now and can already tell the plants are much happier. I did adjust my timer to give less daylight than before. It used to be 11 hours and now it's 8.

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:

WhosUrDadi wrote:

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:I run LEDs on every tank in the store basically. I think they're great when you get the right ones.

Finnex - I currently use these and they get great reviews on plantedtank.
Aquatop - Made at the same manufacturer as Finnex, less size options and more expensive.
Current - Remote control is kinda neat and different modes. Low-mid light only.
Beamworks aka ebay leds - decent but use too much power and the optics are bad.
Marineland - Avoid like the plague
Fluval LED- I havent used one of these yet. Supposed to be good but expensive.

I use Beamswork and never had any problem for me. i had it running for more than a year now. and now that they improve the built already, i dont think its going to be an issue.

By optics being bad I mean the optic put onto the led makes it shoot straight down instead of a spread. So you get columns of light directly under the leds as opposed to it spreading out and giving even coverage over the plants etc.

nope i dont get any straight beaming. i tried putting the fixture directly on top of my cover and raised the fixture away from the cover, i never had any beaming... i dont why..

I actually want to try their new 0.2watt fixture too... thats pretty sure that there will be no beaming..

im not saying that you are not telling the truth as I heard from different user of it also that they have beaming in it, its probably their first version of the fixture. i did bought the 3rd generation of it and no beaming for me.. =)

Great looking tank! One thing I notice is that you have bamboo in the tank. These are not fully aquatic plants. They are bog plants. This means their leaves need to be out of the water. The roots and stem can be fully submerged, but after a few months they will rot away fully submerged

See that's what I get for saying "Oooh look at that pretty plant for $3.99" while at the Petco. Maybe I can get a Betta bowl and put those in that.

Flyfalcons wrote:See that's what I get for saying "Oooh look at that pretty plant for $3.99" while at the Petco.  Maybe I can get a Betta bowl and put those in that.

Here's some options for those plants. Get a piece of styrofoam and poke a hole in it. Shove the plants through it. As the plant grows keep lowering it until it hits the bottom. In like 4-6 months You'll have a plant rooted in your gravel and growing up out of your tank. It looks really good

WhosUrDadi wrote:

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:

WhosUrDadi wrote:

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:I run LEDs on every tank in the store basically. I think they're great when you get the right ones.

Finnex - I currently use these and they get great reviews on plantedtank.
Aquatop - Made at the same manufacturer as Finnex, less size options and more expensive.
Current - Remote control is kinda neat and different modes. Low-mid light only.
Beamworks aka ebay leds - decent but use too much power and the optics are bad.
Marineland - Avoid like the plague
Fluval LED- I havent used one of these yet. Supposed to be good but expensive.

I use Beamswork and never had any problem for me. i had it running for more than a year now. and now that they improve the built already, i dont think its going to be an issue.

By optics being bad I mean the optic put onto the led makes it shoot straight down instead of a spread. So you get columns of light directly under the leds as opposed to it spreading out and giving even coverage over the plants etc.

nope i dont get any straight beaming. i tried putting the fixture directly on top of my cover and raised the fixture away from the cover, i never had any beaming...  i dont why..

I actually want to try their new 0.2watt fixture too... thats pretty sure that there will be no beaming..

im not saying that you are not telling the truth as I heard from different user of it also that they have beaming in it, its probably their first version of the fixture. i did bought the 3rd generation of it and no beaming for me.. =)

Yeah that could totally be. I think I have the first generation. Also I suspect the 0.2 leds won't have that problem at all. As more light sources = less beaming etc.

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:

WhosUrDadi wrote:

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:

WhosUrDadi wrote:

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:I run LEDs on every tank in the store basically. I think they're great when you get the right ones.

Finnex - I currently use these and they get great reviews on plantedtank.
Aquatop - Made at the same manufacturer as Finnex, less size options and more expensive.
Current - Remote control is kinda neat and different modes. Low-mid light only.
Beamworks aka ebay leds - decent but use too much power and the optics are bad.
Marineland - Avoid like the plague
Fluval LED- I havent used one of these yet. Supposed to be good but expensive.

I use Beamswork and never had any problem for me. i had it running for more than a year now. and now that they improve the built already, i dont think its going to be an issue.

By optics being bad I mean the optic put onto the led makes it shoot straight down instead of a spread. So you get columns of light directly under the leds as opposed to it spreading out and giving even coverage over the plants etc.

nope i dont get any straight beaming. i tried putting the fixture directly on top of my cover and raised the fixture away from the cover, i never had any beaming...  i dont why..

I actually want to try their new 0.2watt fixture too... thats pretty sure that there will be no beaming..

im not saying that you are not telling the truth as I heard from different user of it also that they have beaming in it, its probably their first version of the fixture. i did bought the 3rd generation of it and no beaming for me.. =)

Yeah that could totally be. I think I have the first generation. Also I suspect the 0.2 leds won't have that problem at all. As more light sources = less beaming etc.

I believe it consumes a little bit less than the 1w even though there's more LED bulbs in it.

anyhow, how often do you stock fancy plecos? i was looking for some maybe L134 or L260 or L172a or L14. =)

wow Flyfalcons that is a dramatic difference! and that is a beautiful angel you have there!!

WhosUrDadi wrote:

anyhow, how often do you stock fancy plecos?   i was looking for some maybe L134 or L260 or L172a or L14. =)

I've got the L134s in stock wild caught at $63 each. All the other plecos I have had in the store in the last 3 months, but am currently out. I do have Locally bred King Tigers for $29.99 also

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:

WhosUrDadi wrote:

anyhow, how often do you stock fancy plecos?   i was looking for some maybe L134 or L260 or L172a or L14. =)

I've got the L134s in stock wild caught at $63 each. All the other plecos I have had in the store in the last 3 months, but am currently out. I do have Locally bred King Tigers for $29.99 also

errr.. i was hoping you got F1 L134 cuz i know WC's are pricey... >_>

I have the beamworks light and have been happy with them so far. As far as the spotlight effect goes I ended up popping off the little plastic light lenses and it solved the beaming issues and gave them more spread..

JimA wrote: I have the beamworks light and have been happy with them so far.   As far as the spotlight effect goes I ended up popping off the little plastic light lenses and it solved the beaming issues and gave them more spread..

lol! I was waiting for you chime in! =D