Lighting for plant growth.

[Fishplanet7]

Hi all, just joined the forum hopefully to get some experience from your knowledge.
I have kept tropicals for may years in the past, but not within the last 20 years, and am about to start again.
I am pretty clued up with water chemistry through keeping a large koi pond. with moving bed media etc.
But what I don't know is anything regarding LED lighting for my tank. I really like the aquascape type of set up, and have seen lots of spectacular tanks on the internet. but am unsure of which type of LED is better for good growth, without Co2?
I have looked at the Fluval 6500k units and wonder if they are good, and also Nicrew classic units.
Could anyone help with what is good or bad, and if there are any cheaper units that work ok?
Thanks in advance.
TonyC

 

[cdelly]

What plants do you want to keep?

I have on my small tank 2 leds that cost £7.99 each

Big tank is using the led that came with it.

You can spend 100's on led if you want.

You can use t5 bulbs and still get good results

 

[mbsqw1d]

Welcome! LEDs are the most common on the market now - they're both efficient and economic. The 5 watts per gallon guide doesnt really apply and its more a case of looking for lumens.
20 lumens per litre is good for low light plants like ferns and anubius.
30-40 lumens per litre for medium grow plants like swords
above 40 lumens per litre for high grow plants with red on them and dense carpeting plants (these will also require co2 injection though)

Ive had a £50 nicrew and had good results from it (pic in my signature) Never had it on 100% intensity. A good feature of them is that they often come with timers that have dimmers which ramp up the brightness which helps prevent shocking the fish with an instant bright light.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I strongly suggest Nicrew lights. I personally have the Nicrew Classic LED, but there are a number of good models out there.

I believe mine was around $40.

 

[OliveFish05]

I agree with PheonixKingZ that Nicrew is a nice brand. I would highly recommend them. I have 2 Nicrew SkyLed Plus that I purchased through Amazon. One for my 10 gallon was $25 the other for my 55 gallon was $55. My pennywort is growing like crazy with these lights.

 

[Fishplanet7]

Thanks all for the info, I think I will go for the Nicrew classic. Now to find the cheapest supplier Lol

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Thanks all for the info, I think I will go for the Nicrew classic. Now to find the cheapest supplier Lol

This is the one I got: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01HI42IB4/?tag=

Shipping from Amazon worked for me, the light wasn’t broken or damaged.

 

[OliveFish05]

Shipping from Amazon worked for me, the light wasn’t broken or damaged.

Same here.

I will say though that on my larger light, one side of the adjustable brackets won't slide in and out, so I can't adjust or reposition it, but I bought the largest size that would fit my tank so I just pulled the bracket on the other side out further, but now the light isn't centered

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Interesting... maybe it’s clogged with calcium deposits? This happened on the bracket on my cheaper bar light.

 

[OliveFish05]

Interesting... maybe it’s clogged with calcium deposits? This happened on the bracket on my cheaper bar light.

It came that way, it is wedged tight! I yanked and tugged on it a little, but I don't want to break the whole thing. It is not too bad, the light just is not centered, but it doesn't bother me too much

 

[Fishplanet7]

Well, just had a Nicrew 'Plants' light (75cm - 95cm) for my 80cm tank. delivered by Amazon. and ordered direct from Nicrew. (price £34.98)
I have been playing with it and it really is a great piece of kit. Very simple to operate and nice to be able to have is adjusted from 0% to 100% in 5 stages.
For a new comer to Led it is exactly what I was after. ie not complicated !
I was also taken by how small it is ie only 55mm wide x 11mm thick, so can easily fix to a hood etc.
So thanks to all who recommended the make .....now for some water, plants and fish lol

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Glad you are enjoying!

 

[majeed jamal]

The plant is dependent on photosynthesis and light is very important for it. An aquarium with fish only needs a little light. But if you wish to keep the aquarium heavily planted then you have to install new lights. Fluorescent light is better than normal incandescent light in a planted aquarium. A few kinds of plants are more requesting of light that need a lot more grounded light than fluorescent. But these types are not recommended for beginners. Fluorescent lamps are more expensive than incandescent lamps. but fluorescent lamps will burn cooler and use less electricity.

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