# Eheim power led strip vs tmc aquagro grobeam



## Andreasell (20 Sep 2014)

Hey guys first post in this forum finally.  So, I am planning on purchasing a new fish tank measuring 150cmx60cmx60cm and I have a couple of questions regarding the lighting that i am going to use. I am not sure whether it will be high tech or not with pressurized co2 but in case it is, I want my light to be sufficient and not a limiting factor.

1. Will one of the new eheim power led strip plants be sufficient for my tank measurements or will I have to add more? I'm talking about the largest one.

http://www.aquaristikshop.com/aquaristic/EHEIM-Power-LED-plants/421102/

2. Which is better for plants, the daylight one or the plants one? (It sounds kind of obvious but just to make sure  ) 

http://www.aquaristikshop.com/aquaristic/EHEIM-Power-LED-plants/421102/ vs http://www.aquaristikshop.com/aquaristic/EHEIM-Power-LED-daylight/421101/

3. Will it be better to add the tmc aquagro grobeam 1000 and ditch completely the eheim one? I really like the controller that comes with the eheim and also fits my aquarium perfectly but if it is not the right choice, then i will not buy it.


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## RossMartin (21 Sep 2014)

I would imagine you would need a controller on the TMC growbeams as well.  I think you would also be looking at three tiles  for a 150cm wide tank.

I think the biggest issue on a high tech tank will be C02 diffusion and circulation!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## foxfish (21 Sep 2014)

Hi and welcome to the forum.
The limiting factor (as Ross touched on) will be the amount of Co2 available to the plants.
I know that might not seem like the answer you were looking for but light really is not critical in many respects... bright light is hardly ever required to grow aquatic plants but abundant co2 will see your tank flourish!
So if your budget will allow look for adjustable brightness light systems.


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## Bhu (21 Sep 2014)

I'm using the twin TMC aquagrow 600 with a controller on a 55cm cube. Looks fantastic the dimmable feature is wonderful. I can't say much yet as its early days and the main plants arrive Tuesday. The Amazon swords and Java moss that's already in there is responding well to the lights.  I'm using a eheim 2171 T canister with the UP inline difusser. That is also working well and giving a good light green colour. The circulation could be a bit more so definitely agree with RossMartin that the circulation is key. Im on about 8x on a 150 litre tank. And 10x + is best. 
These lights live up to their ratings for the shimmer and pure looks. The lighting is excellent for us to see so in a couple of weeks I'll be able to let you know how the plants find it too


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## Andreasell (21 Sep 2014)

Thanks for the replies! Basically i really like the eheim one but i was not sure whether it is strong enough. But from what i've gathered, light is not that important and the eheim one covers me. Is that right?


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## foxfish (22 Sep 2014)

I have not read anything about the eheim lights so I can't really comment!
As a rule of thumb 2 x T8 full lenth tubes would be good for a low tech and 2 x T5s for bight tech but even then it would be best to have them independently switched. 
lEDs are best when they have a dimming device. The colour is more for your benefit as plants will grow under virtually any spectrum.
I woul say the eheim lights are a good price though.
With a 2' wide tank one light might not have the spread to cover all the plating area equally?


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## TallDragon (25 Sep 2014)

foxfish said:


> I have not read anything about the eheim lights so I can't really comment!
> As a rule of thumb 2 x T8 full lenth tubes would be good for a low tech and 2 x T5s for bight tech but even then it would be best to have them independently switched.
> lEDs are best when they have a dimming device. The colour is more for your benefit as plants will grow under virtually any spectrum.
> I woul say the eheim lights are a good price though.
> With a 2' wide tank one light might not have the spread to cover all the plating area equally?


Foxfish, 
For a low-tech 60x45x45 would 2x24w t5 be enough or too much? What lighting should I consider ?  Ada aquasky 601 or 602 is outside budget unfortunately


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## foxfish (25 Sep 2014)

From my own personal experience, I would recommend two independently switched lights.
A safer bet than a double unit that only works both lights!
Some folk that use decomposing soil substrates that produce a limited amount of C02 & have a previous knowledge & experience with low tech set ups - seem to be able to use twin t8s the length of the tank & get good alga free results.
Using twin T 5s is a risky proposition & would most likely result in a nasty algae infested tank!
So I think that two T5s is to much light for a low tech, one T5 would probably be Ok but by using two T8s you can have a better effect with both colour & staggered lighting effects plus a safer start up....
Low tech tanks can be painfully slow to grow but using too much light is not a good way to speed things up.
I would strongly suggest reading Troi's tutorials on  soil substrates ..


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## Andy Thurston (25 Sep 2014)

Just looked closer at the eheim power led and it looks comparable to the tmc but a much cheaper.
The longest eheim is 43w which is 3w more than 2 x tmc colour plus 1500 tiles. If there made using similar led chips as tmc, 1 unit should be quite good for a 150cm high tech tank


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## TallDragon (26 Sep 2014)

foxfish said:


> From my own personal experience, I would recommend two independently switched lights.
> A safer bet than a double unit that only works both lights!.



Thanks for great advice.
Question is, who makes a good twin lumiere with independetly switchable T8s.


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