|
Post by babygeige on Dec 21, 2012 17:56:46 GMT -5
A few weeks ago I was cleaning my 10 gallon, and when I picked up the light, I kind of put my finger through the white plastic part (the part that helps hold the light bulb - I don't know the technical name). And a week or so later while cleaning, it cracked more. So it's kind of messy to deal with and I 'm going to replace it.
Would trying out an LED fixture be overkill for a 10 gallon tank planted with java fern, crypt lutea, and anubias? I've got about 40 busy red cherry shrimp in there, so there's almost no algae - I'm a little concerned that LED might be too powerful for my setup. I read over Carl's article a bit and it looks like I might be right...?
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Dec 21, 2012 20:36:01 GMT -5
The Mini 400 LED is designed for a tank this size to 20 gallon. That said it is a strong light for a 10 gallon, but this is similar to the (2) GroBeam 1000s Parker used for his tank as per wattage to tank size Other considerations are the T2 Light Fixtures (such as two 8 Watt fixtures) or a couple of T5 Carl
|
|
|
Post by babygeige on Dec 22, 2012 18:00:23 GMT -5
Yeah, those are probably a little out of my budget too... I'm not looking for super fast growth or anything. I'm very happy with how the plants in the 10 gallon are doing, I was just thinking it'd be nice to not have to change out the light bulb every year. I've got 6 years' worth of fluorescent bulbs sitting around, waiting to be taken to the recycling center, lol! btw Carl, the T2 light fixture link you inserted is broken. I found it though. www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquariumbulb.htm
|
|
|
Post by babygeige on Jan 10, 2013 21:10:22 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Jan 11, 2013 10:18:30 GMT -5
Aqueon (owned by Central Pet) is a company that does not make their own products. I believe this is the Marineland Single Bright, a low end Chinese made LED. From: LED Reviews, Marineland: "The over hyped Marineland Double Bright LED lights from Marineland are also purely for highlighting fish only or complimenting other lights."If you are just going to use it for fish or low light plants, it should be OK, otherwise for medium light or higher planted aquariums I would not recommend it. Carl
|
|
|
Post by babygeige on Jan 19, 2013 13:11:33 GMT -5
Hmmm...that's annoying. I posted a reply several days ago. Either something happened and it didn't go through, or I forgot to actually click "Post Reply." Oh well!
I decided to try out the light. I ended up at the lfs, where they had the Marineland one that you mentioned, Carl. I understand the points you make in your review, but I think it will be fine for the setup I have for my 10 gallon. If I like it, maybe later this year I'll get LED's for one or both of my other tanks. My 50 gallon is a pretty low tech setup too - just java fern and anubias. I'd probably have to get a better one for the 30 gallon though.
I do like the blue night mode the light has. It'll be nice to switch to it in the evening.
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Jan 19, 2013 17:28:44 GMT -5
This should be fine for a low tech aquarium.
Think of it as a basic AquaGlo T8 aquarium light that uses slightly less electricity
Carl
|
|
|
Post by babygeige on Mar 6, 2013 13:23:03 GMT -5
I've been running this LED light for a little over a month now, I guess. I really do like it! My plants seem to be going on with business as usual - the anubias just sprouted one its cute little flower things. And I even cut it in half a couple of weeks ago, so I'm pretty happy with this light.
I guess the thing now will be to see how long it will last!
|
|
|
Post by missdiane on Mar 7, 2013 15:06:12 GMT -5
is it necessary to buy specific aquarium lights or will daylight flourescent bulbs - 550 lumens, 6500K. bluish white do the trick
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Mar 7, 2013 15:23:46 GMT -5
is it necessary to buy specific aquarium lights or will daylight flourescent bulbs - 550 lumens, 6500K. bluish white do the trick Generally speaking, a generic 6500K light will work for at least low light requiring plants. Once you get into high light requiring plants, output in PAR, PUR becomes important and many common 6500K lights such as sold in chain pets stores or Home Depot fall well short here See: Aquarium lighting Facts & Information Aquarium Lighting; Which to chooseCarl
|
|
|
Post by babygeige on Mar 21, 2013 18:06:55 GMT -5
If you have a regular fluorescent light fixture and just have low tech plants (java fern, anubias, many crypts), you can usually get away with the basic Plant and Aquarium bulbs commonly found at hardware stores. That's what I used on my 10 gallon, and that's what I've got in the fixture for my 50 gallon. I replace them once a year or so. They're 6500K, just like the ones the big box pet store sells, only cost half as much!
|
|
|
Post by parker002 on Mar 22, 2013 14:47:00 GMT -5
On my daughter's 14G, I modified the existing hood so that it could accomodate 13W spiral CFLs. WalMart and other places sell 10W screw-in CFLs that fit these generic hoods but they're only 550 lumens and they're expensive comparatively. The 13W CFLs are 800 lumens but you have to remove the metal guards to get them to fit. I inserted aluminum foil in their place since it's alot thinner and that has kept the hood from melting for the most part. Another thing is that the hoods are black, top and bottom. I spray painted the underside with white spraypaint - you'd be surprised how much better the lighting is just by creating a better reflective surface.
|
|