Am going to write up a fair bit of information as to why I prefer LEDs for plant growth over the normal T8 and T5s systems. However, Most of this subject will be based on what I've found out via doing tests myself and having bought T8, T5, T5HO and LEDs. I will however be using some information found online, Like Graphs etc and I will link these sites before if you'd like to have a read through them. You can add or remove stuff via this thread if you feel something I've said does not work with you or you've found different results, Just post and I'll re-edit them as much as possible with peoples added information.
Anyway, Let's start.
Let's start with the "K's", Why is it important in both LEDs and Normal lighting. Well for starters, Let's take a quick look at this graph.
This is just a quick sample but is the easiest and best way to show you why kelvins are important for lighting. I'll make this simple!, As you can see, Below is the kelvins, The green part of the chart is what plants use at different kelvin levels. Clearly seen in the chart is the fact that plants use the most light around the 6500 to 5500 zone, With that information in mind you want to have suitable lighting in this zone if you want the best plant growth. You'll find that most "Pink" T5/T8s lights are in this level, 6500k. A lot of people overlook these looks as it gives off a rather bright pink shine of fish, plants and other objects in the tank. BUT, Mixed with a white light you'll rarely notice this and get the best of both worlds.
Anyway, You'll want to be after LEDs with a 6500k rating. This in itself is quite hard to find as most LED fish lights you can buy will not state what rating they have, What wattage they use or what par level they are on, Deeming them quite useless and a gamble if your buying them for plant growth. Simply put, If your buying "cheap" leds there most likely at a kelvin of about 8-10k. This brings out a very bright white light however plants growth slowly starts to drop when you near 7k and you'll see why buying cheap lights with no information ends up with terrible issues for your plants. Don't get me wrong, You can buy cheap leds and get epic plant growth, I've seen it before but I myself would not without doing the research on the light!
Next, We can look at par, Between a T5 and LED unit.
Now, A lot of people prefer using PAR as a rating of how powerful a LED is and in a sense yes, Because you will know that LEDs use a lot less wattage than a normal T5 light does. The only system where you work out how many watts per gallon you had was a good system in getting a overall idea how what your tank was, 1WPG was low tech, 2WPG was medium and 3WPG+ was around high tech, Needing CO2, Ferts and other plant food daily due to the brightness and power of the lighting system. I can tell you know, Research has told me that the PAR ratings of a T5 HO and LEDs are around the same, At the same distance and therefore I would not worry over it, Stick to kelvins.
Lastly, The wattage. As I said above, LEDs use less wattage than normal T5s and T8s and the Watt per gallon rule somewhat derps when working with LEDs. To put it in a easy and simple way, I would suggest taking whatever the wattage is of the LED system, Doubling it and working out what the WPG is. Normally LEDs will put out 2x greater light than T5 system would and I've done this since I started fish keeping, Simple, easy and hassle free.
So, I will put a few pointers down below as to what works best with me!
Get to know what kelvins the LEDs are, If it does not say what kelvins they run at, Tend to avoid as they'll be a higher range than what you want for super plant growth. Look for 6500k LEDS.
Forget PAR ratings, It gets complex and confusing. Based on my information, T5HO and LEDs almost have the same PAR rating and should therefore be based on that. Don't worry it
Lastly, Wattage. If the LED unit does not state it's watt output, IE, 12X 3Watt LEDs then avoid. Again, Most cheap LED's will have 0.5W leds in them and therefore you'll need a lot of them to get anywhere near the wattage you want for plant growth. Aim for 3 watt LEDs, There bright, very powerful and I've found the best leds money can buy.
Lastly, What you pay for is what you get. Cheaper LED units that run 3watt leds at a kelvin of 6500k may seem like what you want but just note that LEDs need drivers to run the right voltage through them. Drivers are the first thing to die on a LED unit and the cheaper the unit the faster they die.
Am not the best at writing up what works best for me but at least if one or two people find this useful then I'll be quite happy with that.
Websites to look out for:
Ebay sells 6500k LED units which I hear are quite good, Just shop around and find what you want to pay for LEDS, Remember the more you pay the better drivers you are getting.
Will post more soon.
Anyway, Let's start.
Let's start with the "K's", Why is it important in both LEDs and Normal lighting. Well for starters, Let's take a quick look at this graph.
This is just a quick sample but is the easiest and best way to show you why kelvins are important for lighting. I'll make this simple!, As you can see, Below is the kelvins, The green part of the chart is what plants use at different kelvin levels. Clearly seen in the chart is the fact that plants use the most light around the 6500 to 5500 zone, With that information in mind you want to have suitable lighting in this zone if you want the best plant growth. You'll find that most "Pink" T5/T8s lights are in this level, 6500k. A lot of people overlook these looks as it gives off a rather bright pink shine of fish, plants and other objects in the tank. BUT, Mixed with a white light you'll rarely notice this and get the best of both worlds.
Anyway, You'll want to be after LEDs with a 6500k rating. This in itself is quite hard to find as most LED fish lights you can buy will not state what rating they have, What wattage they use or what par level they are on, Deeming them quite useless and a gamble if your buying them for plant growth. Simply put, If your buying "cheap" leds there most likely at a kelvin of about 8-10k. This brings out a very bright white light however plants growth slowly starts to drop when you near 7k and you'll see why buying cheap lights with no information ends up with terrible issues for your plants. Don't get me wrong, You can buy cheap leds and get epic plant growth, I've seen it before but I myself would not without doing the research on the light!
Next, We can look at par, Between a T5 and LED unit.
Now, A lot of people prefer using PAR as a rating of how powerful a LED is and in a sense yes, Because you will know that LEDs use a lot less wattage than a normal T5 light does. The only system where you work out how many watts per gallon you had was a good system in getting a overall idea how what your tank was, 1WPG was low tech, 2WPG was medium and 3WPG+ was around high tech, Needing CO2, Ferts and other plant food daily due to the brightness and power of the lighting system. I can tell you know, Research has told me that the PAR ratings of a T5 HO and LEDs are around the same, At the same distance and therefore I would not worry over it, Stick to kelvins.
Lastly, The wattage. As I said above, LEDs use less wattage than normal T5s and T8s and the Watt per gallon rule somewhat derps when working with LEDs. To put it in a easy and simple way, I would suggest taking whatever the wattage is of the LED system, Doubling it and working out what the WPG is. Normally LEDs will put out 2x greater light than T5 system would and I've done this since I started fish keeping, Simple, easy and hassle free.
So, I will put a few pointers down below as to what works best with me!
Get to know what kelvins the LEDs are, If it does not say what kelvins they run at, Tend to avoid as they'll be a higher range than what you want for super plant growth. Look for 6500k LEDS.
Forget PAR ratings, It gets complex and confusing. Based on my information, T5HO and LEDs almost have the same PAR rating and should therefore be based on that. Don't worry it
Lastly, Wattage. If the LED unit does not state it's watt output, IE, 12X 3Watt LEDs then avoid. Again, Most cheap LED's will have 0.5W leds in them and therefore you'll need a lot of them to get anywhere near the wattage you want for plant growth. Aim for 3 watt LEDs, There bright, very powerful and I've found the best leds money can buy.
Lastly, What you pay for is what you get. Cheaper LED units that run 3watt leds at a kelvin of 6500k may seem like what you want but just note that LEDs need drivers to run the right voltage through them. Drivers are the first thing to die on a LED unit and the cheaper the unit the faster they die.
Am not the best at writing up what works best for me but at least if one or two people find this useful then I'll be quite happy with that.
Websites to look out for:
Ebay sells 6500k LED units which I hear are quite good, Just shop around and find what you want to pay for LEDS, Remember the more you pay the better drivers you are getting.
Will post more soon.
