# led advice please?



## chris_cotton23 (5 May 2015)

hello guys!
i am trying to find a led system for my planted tank 3ftx18''wx20''H empty at the moment(so it will be around 16-18''H with substrate)but i am really struggling honestly!I have been reading from the morning to the night but still i don't know where do i have to look!

i want to grow some dwarf hairgrass , micranthemoides and some left over montecarlo form my previous tank so need something that it will give strong enough light

also i will run the tank with co2

i have seen some sellers form ebay that they seling some units like that
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/24x-3W-6500K-white-Beamswork-EVO-36-aquarium-LED-light-90-120cm-planted-aquarium/161568917397?_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=1&asc=20141212152715&meid=f63e427323174c6fadfdca8fe2984fea&pid=100338&rk=9&rkt=29&sd=161295179636
which look good but i can find only the 66x0.5w led in uk!

do you recommend the the 24 x 3 w ?

i have seen the led unit form co2art as well
http://www.co2art.co.uk/products/pro-led-light-u-series-p-90cm
which also looks good

is another unit which will be fine for my needs?

please can someone guide me to choose ?please?please?
i am trying to keep the budget low if possible...

they told from some lfs about arcadia ,fluval but from my research i've seen the they are low output light!

i was really thing about this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AQUARIUM-...056?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a4e668538
which is the 66x0.5w but will it be enough fro the high of my tank?is that the beams work as well?

i don't know i am very confused!really if someone  can help me i will much appreciate it as i am waiting for my new tank on friday!

thank you anyway for you time!!

my best regards Chris!


----------



## chris_cotton23 (5 May 2015)

also i've seen this units http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beamswork...um-/151585685402?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

or this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LT-profes...7W-/151289799818?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368
if i would put 2 or 3 of them?

as you can see i am bit lost! thanks again anyway!


----------



## chris_cotton23 (6 May 2015)

or this?

http://www.joesaquaticworld.co.uk/w...-2MBdOGaIxxU8D4SN7HnoJahMlP482YeONRoCQwrw_wcB


----------



## Rahms (6 May 2015)

Have you mixed your dimensions? Or is it an ~8 foot long aquarium? 

Anyways! I've got an UP aqua pro 60cm and I'm happy with it, but its not comparable to the high output stuff like grobeams. Why are you so fixated on LED? I only got one because its cheap and easy to dim.  You have quite a deep tank and want to plant a carpet so you're going to need plenty of light to make it dense.

Why not just get some T5HOs?

http://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/a...5-fish-tank-lights-two-tubes-black-or-silver/
http://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/a...5-fish-tank-lighting-four-tubes-black-or-sil/

The advantage of T5HO is that its all standard (ish) so you can find PAR data. I doubt you'd need 4.


----------



## chris_cotton23 (6 May 2015)

hahahah thanks just fixed it from mixed it hahah!

first of all thanks for your reply!

to be honest i don't have a proper answer for why i want LED...i like the way that they look(but the fixtures form allpondsolutions  are pretty sweet)...and i have some t5 for the 5foot long and i was thinking to go for something differentthis time !you are right actually about PAR reading, it is a bit difficult to find data for led units...

the first thought to go for LED is because of the price(for these units) which is  similar to t5s fixture with two  tubes but i thing i will need two of the LED units!

also i have seen some good reviews for the beamswork (what do you think?)but  i think someone said that are not dimable and i was trying to find some reviews about the UP aqua for co2art...
if i could have nice results with one of these led at the beginning and maybe i would add one more unit  if it needs(probably it will) for later may i would go for it but i don't like the color  and on the other side i know that with two t5s i would be fine
i like the game with the dimmer as well instead to play with the high of the unit with t5s!

1.did the UP aqua come with the dimmer?how much did you pay for all?
2.do you have to adjust manually the power of the light or it is like an auto sunset?
3.if it is manually does it work with a timer or do you have to adjust it again when the timer goes off and on?

sorry for all these questions by the way! 


how high is your tank and what are you growing?

thank you very much my mate!thanks!


----------



## Rahms (6 May 2015)

chris_cotton23 said:


> hahahah thanks just fixed it from mixed it hahah!



You went the wrong way! down with imperial... 

I think easy dimming is pretty much the main advantage of the LEDs, so probably wouldn't bother with the beamswork. That said, the ripple effect is nice too.

1. doesnt come with dimmer, I just got a cheap one for £4 off ebay, so I paid about £70 (my tank isn't as big as yours). You need to check the ratings on the dimmers though, not sure my dimmer is rated for a larger (higher wattage) unit
2. yeah manual. Can probably plug one of those fancy controllers in, not sure what the connectors are like, but they'd cost more than the light lol. if you're any good with electronics/computers you could probably DIY a controller with a raspberry pi
3. are you thinking of the arcadia problem? its not like that.  my dimmer is just like a hifi knob, set and forget. doesnt require any power to keep its setting

my tanks 40cm deep. No difficult growers really, got rotala walliichi which still has a nice bit of red, but it grows slow.  I've got the light dimmed down most of the way because its a bit neglected at the moment


and yeah no worries, I was the same trying to find LEDs!


----------



## chris_cotton23 (6 May 2015)

thanks again my mate for your help!
you system sound good but i think definitely i will need two of them at least!

you said DIY and you put me on fire  i am bit good with general DIY  and from this morning i started to think about it!honestly!

first i thought to make a fixture with high output LED which will cost less than the commercials one but
i 've seen some people to use gu10 LED with bad and good reviews then
i've seen people to go with gu10 LED E27 it easier to work with it, almost same reviews as above but
finaly i 've seen people to use CLF bulbs with only good reviews so far...the cheapest as well!and finally  just found this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Brig...t=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item1c442acf4d

what do you think for all these?is it worth a try?
i will make the stand for my new tank why not to make the canopy or the hanging system as well?



> ''and yeah no worries, I was the same trying to find LEDs!''



you made me to feel better thanks!


----------

