# From fluorescent light To LED AWESOME!!!



## chamberboy1213 (Jan 4, 2012)

this is my first post in these forums. but i just had to say i went from an old fluorescent light for my FW tank to the new LED style lights like marineland makes but i found an off brand of the same kind of light with the same specs called Beamworks. its way cheaper than the marine land products. but i just got this light so as for how long it last I'll have to find out for my self. but here are pics of the difference it made in my tank.

items in topdogsellers store on eBay!

Links To Pics

http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery/data/500/Old_Light.png

http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery/data/500/New_light.png

http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery/data/500/Lunar.png


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Nice post! I'll be looking into the FW LEDs


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## chamberboy1213 (Jan 4, 2012)

well the one i got is supposed to be for the reef aquariums and it ran me $140. but the FW lights are even cheaper


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Yeah, looks like the only diff. between SW and FW light variants is the number of 6500K LEDs vs. the number of actinics. The one I'm looking at is the 18"-22" FW bright variant with a bunch of 6500K's but only 3 actinics which would serve as moonlights. Only draws 5W, but can't tell if each LED is 300 Lumens or the whole setup is 300 Lumens. Also, do you know if the LEDs have lenses or reflectors?


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

Looks good. I am gonna stick to my $8 CFL for now however


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## chamberboy1213 (Jan 4, 2012)

I'm really not sure but if i had to guess I'd say that its total 300 lumens and im not sure about the lenses either


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## drunkenbeast (Nov 13, 2011)

wow it your tank looks so much better!


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## chamberboy1213 (Jan 4, 2012)

Thanks i Love it. i got 2 other tanks i plan on getting these leds light for in the near future. i love the lower power products.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

What did you have on there before? The one they say is good for plants is one of the reef lights.


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## chamberboy1213 (Jan 4, 2012)

i just had 2 20watt cool white fluorescent bulb that were way too old and i didnt really want to waste money on new ones cause i've been looking at some new lighting. and yea these should been plenty good for fresh water plants even though these are rated for reef aquariums i've seen several reviews that they really aren't enough for good coral growth. and i would have lots of greenery in my tank but my severum care for any of that


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Just bought the FW bright 54 LED 18"-22" set for $35 w/free shipping. I'll post pics and feedback as well, when it gets here.


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## chamberboy1213 (Jan 4, 2012)

awesome i hope you like it


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

Dang looks nice I think I might get the 54w 48" for my planted 75g. Just wondering if I should get 2 or if one would work? Please make sure you keep us posted on these if they seem too dim out or burn or on you.


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## phil_n_fish (Nov 19, 2011)

LEDS are amazing and there are so many different kinds of LED fixtures. You will find some for Deep tanks which have high wattage and with dimming lights. Some even come with a controller that you can control the lighting with your iphone when you're not home. 

Here's a video of a radeon LED fixture. I just want to show you this to show you how much LED lighting has advanced in such a small time frame. 
Its showing it on a saltwater setup but it gives you a general idea.
Mr. Saltwater Tank's Radion Experiment Update - YouTube


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

I figure my tank is growing pants now with a cheap single 40w T8 light so of I get the reef one that is 54w I will be having more light then what I have now. So it should be fine right? Besides if anything down the road I could just buy a 2nd one.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Why would you get a reef light for a FW tank? FW plants don't really utilize blue light (10,000K+), they can use more of the light down in the 6700K-5500K range. Notice on the FW Bright setups there are quite a few more 6700K LEDs and the few actinic LEDs are I think for moonlighting.

The setup I got has 50-something 6700K 0.3W LEDs and only two or three blue LEDs for moonlights. What I think is SUPER sweet is that the entire fixture only draws 5 Watts. And when compared to a 5500K 18" T8 15W bulb, I'm guessing it will be worlds better. The deciding factor, however, will be to see how the tank with the LEDs does when pitted against the same size tank with a 48W T5HO fixture over it...


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## chamberboy1213 (Jan 4, 2012)

well like i said i got the reef light on my FW tank and i would have plants in mine if it wasnt for my green severum. he hates plants big time. but in time i do plan on moving that light to a 55gal SW tank i have plans for. i just started a 29gal saltwater tank about 2 months ago. i want to start small so that i could get the hang of it and know what to expect for when i go big. but it suck it sucks cause im about to move again so i got to take it down and it was just starting to get going.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

chamberboy1213 said:


> it sucks cause im about to move again so i got to take it down and it was just starting to get going.


No kidding. I'm just setting up my 29 and I have to move for a job in 5 months. Probably going to be selling the entire setup and buying new when I'm established up there


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## chamberboy1213 (Jan 4, 2012)

man i wouldn't sell it you'll just have to buy it all over again. especially if youre going to set it up again. and you wont get what get out of it what you put into it at all. e


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

Well I figured the fresh water light is only .06w each for 10.44w total compared to the reef light that its 54 1w leds for a total of 54w.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Chillwill007 said:


> Well I figured the fresh water light is only .06w each for 10.44w total compared to the reef light that its 54 1w leds for a total of 54w.


Yes, but how many of those are actinic?


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

The reef light has 46 white for a total of 46w and the FW light has 162 white for only a total of 9.72w so either way the reef light has more Watts so wouldn't that be better for plant growth? I'm just trying to figure out which one I should get not trying to start an argument.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I hear ya, and I'm not upset in the least. It's not an issue so much of the power the fixture draws, but what type of LEDs it has. If it has, say, 22 actinic LEDs and 22 6700K LEDs, it won't be as effective as, say, a fixture with 52 6700K LEDs and 2 actinic LEDs, because freshwater plants aren't able to utilize actinic light as effectively as they can 6700K light. The Kelvin rating refers to the wavelength of the light emitted, and 6700K is right in the middle, whereas actinic is on the higher end of the wavelength spectrum, up in the blue light category. Actinics are more prevalent in marine tanks because the coral and anemones in reef tanks soak up that blue light like it's candy.

AND the power the fixture draws is not necessarily representative of how intense the LEDs are. That is the Lumen rating of the LEDs, but in general you are right to assume a proportional ratio between the Watts and Lumens of a fixture - 22 1-Watt 6700K LEDs might be just as effective as 52 0.5-Watt 6700K LEDs, but the last and final word in the argument would come from a PAR meter, which measures the light intensity of ONLY in the range freshwater plants can utilize for photosynthesis.

There's also this to consider - if you buy the high-powered LED kit for a marine tank, that's a LOT of moonlight if you're planning on using all those actinics as moonlights. However, if you invest in a dimmer, it would provide more evenly distributed moonlight as opposed to two or three actinic LEDs.

Just my thoughts and observations...

Source:
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/aquarium-lighting-16326.html


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

So do you think i'm better of just buying 2 of the fresh water lights? is a standered 75g so its 18" wide and these fixtures are 5" wide so I could put 2 and still have room. Or do you think that would be over kill?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Chillwill007 said:


> So do you think i'm better of just buying 2 of the fresh water lights? is a standered 75g so its 18" wide and these fixtures are 5" wide so I could put 2 and still have room. Or do you think that would be over kill?


Might be a little overkill. Stay with what you've ordered thus far, and just run the 6700K's during the day and dimmed actinics at night. That would be my suggestion


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

Well I haven't ordered anything yet


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Ah, well in that case then I would order 1 FW bright, and if you're not satisfied with the light level then order the other.


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

Hey gizmo just wondering if you got any pics of your light yet? I'm about to order my light this week and I just want to see how the freshwater light actually looks over a tank


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I do have pics, but I'm at work so I won't be able to upload them until tonight. In a word, the LED light is excellent. As much light as the 48W T5HO I have over my other 10 gallon, and MUCH more light than the dinky 17W T8 I had over the tank before, at less than 1/3rd of the power consumed (5W).

The last step I will do, probably this weekend, is pull out my light meter and compare intensities. It's a Lux meter, but assuming both lights emit mostly PAR light, it should suffice to give an accurate representation of useable light for plants.

Only drawback with the fixture - you cannot independently control the 3 actinic LED moonlights - you would have to manually throw the switch to turn them on, rather than having the convenience of putting them on a timer. But who really needs moonlight?

Overall, I would give the fixture 9 out of 10 on a scale of 10, it's quite a nice fixture, and cheap too!


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

Gizmo said:


> I do have pics, but I'm at work so I won't be able to upload them until tonight. In a word, the LED light is excellent. As much light as the 48W T5HO I have over my other 10 gallon, and MUCH more light than the dinky 17W T8 I had over the tank before, at less than 1/3rd of the power consumed (5W).
> 
> The last step I will do, probably this weekend, is pull out my light meter and compare intensities. It's a Lux meter, but assuming both lights emit mostly PAR light, it should suffice to give an accurate representation of useable light for plants.
> 
> ...


Sweet so one should be good for my 75g tank since now all it has is a single 40 watt T8 bulb and that its growing everything I got in there now. Thanks for the reply I well impatiently be waiting for the pics :-}


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If you guys are talking about the Marineland setups, they claim only their reef setup is good for plants. It has 10000k lamps, but they will do just fine.


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

There the same just knock offs.


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