Cheapo Led Strips?

[minnnt]

Thinking of buying a 48x18x18 bare tank and was wondering if a added a couple of these cheap LED strips that you see on ebay would be sufficient for growing low light requiring plants such as Java Ferns and Anubias etc? Not looking for a heavily planted tank or anything, just a few plants to break things up?!

Thanks.

 

[KkAaNnEe]

LOL I keep stumbling across your threads... They are not great for plant growing tbh but if you could put the tank somewhere where it will get a bit of daylight, it could work

 

[matt_storey]

sorry to barge in lol - Like KkAaNnEe I always find myself in your threads lol
would these LEDS work as a "night light"

wouldnt mind setting a couple of blue strips in the lid.

 

[moochy13]

the blue strips work great as a night light. heres a pretty crap picture of mine. again, sorry for going off topic.

the strips are pretty bright, and you've got a relatively shallow tank which is on your side. think mine is switchable up to 12v, my plug has a slider on it. dont know if that helps work out how bright they are.

 

[minnnt]

I would only want the white LED's i think, not keen on the blue unless you could get a more actinic blue colouration?! Just trying to be a cheapskate really as im tight

 

[KkAaNnEe]

Ive had the moonlight ones, still got em acutally, cant be bothered with the fuss of the wires atm.. How much are you gonna pay for the strips? If you picked up a cheap starter unit and a cheap bulb off lampspecs, cant be much difference really

 

[minnnt]

Ive had the moonlight ones, still got em acutally, cant be bothered with the fuss of the wires atm.. How much are you gonna pay for the strips? If you picked up a cheap starter unit and a cheap bulb off lampspecs, cant be much difference really

I was concidering two sets, so about £21 for them both. I have seen a T8 40w starter for about £19 so this maybe a better option... Although i do like the idea of LED's.

 

[matt_storey]

just bought a 120cm LED strip, should fit perfectly between my 2 bulbs also bought a 12v adaptor, in total £10.

Will no doubt post a pic when its all arrived

 

[ian]

LOL I keep stumbling across your threads... They are not great for plant growing tbh but if you could put the tank somewhere where it will get a bit of daylight, it could work

Who says they aren't good for plant growth? Please tell me? Plants will adapt to any kind of light, and certain LED's are actually quite good for growing plants under...proof is in the pudding

courtesy of George Farmer

2x LED plates

courtesy of Andy Cole

these are just 2 planted tanks grown under LEDs...

 

[StandbySetting]

You'd be better off building yourself a rig if you can, I'm building one currently, I'm just waiting for the parts, in total it's cost me £24 which is not bad! The thing is LED strips use standard LED's, the power out put from those things is poor, high power LED's are much better growing plants.

 

[minnnt]

You'd be better off building yourself a rig if you can, I'm building one currently, I'm just waiting for the parts, in total it's cost me £24 which is not bad! The thing is LED strips use standard LED's, the power out put from those things is poor, high power LED's are much better growing plants.

Thanks SBS. So i need high power ones? If i went this route like you suggest, how many would i need for this size tank?

 

[StandbySetting]

Well I am using 6 on my 60 litre, so you'd probably need somewhere in the region of 10-12, you might want to ask Andy however, I've not had a go with them yet, I just followed his suggestions.

There is a thread in the planted section I started, you might want to take a read.

I should add that the £24 I paid was for a 10 LED's, 10 Heat sinks, a driver (you'll need 2 unless you use 8LED's, most drivers can power up to 8) and reflectors. The transformers I already had as well as a spare few pieces of wood to build a housing for it all.

 

[KkAaNnEe]

LOL I keep stumbling across your threads... They are not great for plant growing tbh but if you could put the tank somewhere where it will get a bit of daylight, it could work

Who says they aren't good for plant growth? Please tell me? Plants will adapt to any kind of light, and certain LED's are actually quite good for growing plants under...proof is in the pudding

courtesy of George Farmer

2x LED plates

courtesy of Andy Cole

these are just 2 planted tanks grown under LEDs...

What SBS said^^^

 

[minnnt]

Sounds really complicated Might go for a standard T8 and a strip of LED's.

 

[ian]

Nice reply KkAaNnEe...so can you grow plants under LED's? Yes you can. I have seen some nice tanks grown under normal LEDs. It's all about the footprint of the LED's and then PAR, but not many of us actually own a PAR meter, so go on plant growth alone.