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Do I need to replace my lights?

M

MattGriff88

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Joined
19 Nov 2024
Messages
4
Location
Uk
Hi,

I have recently been given a Juwel 240 and it has 2 x Led tubes in there.
One is Juwel LED Day 9000k 21W and the other Juwel LED Nature 6500K 21W.

Are these good enough to grow plenty of plants or do I need to replace?
 
Not 100% sure yet but the below is what I have used in the past, a few years a go now mind on a different setup.

Monte Carlo
Phyllanthus fluitans
Weeping Moss
Bacopa caroliniana
Lindernia rotundifolia
Staurogyne repens
Eleocharis acicularis mini
Hemianthus Callitrichoides
 
MattGriff88 said:
Hi,

I have recently been given a Juwel 240 and it has 2 x Led tubes in there.
One is Juwel LED Day 9000k 21W and the other Juwel LED Nature 6500K 21W.

Are these good enough to grow plenty of plants or do I need to replace?
Click to expand...
Couple of suggestions based on my guessing about your tank.
First its about 60 US gallons, 21.6" deep.
so a starting point is about 1W /gallon.
You're short on that estimate.

Second having 2 high kelvin tubes (of unknown age) I'd recommend a slight change in the spectrum content.
I see they make a warmer led that's about 4000-ish K. would pair well with either of your current bulbs.
Wattage is higher as well.
I'm not going to get into the "replace everything" and get new more adjustable lighting. You can do a search here. Probably a dozen different "replace my juwel lights" threads.
No its not going to be a PAR barn buster even if you get to the 60w but it would be adequate for many plants.
You may be tempted to replace both with the "colour" led but many would find it too warm for their taste.
juwelcolour.jpg

juwelcolor.jpg
 
Yeah I did see the other light option which I am considering or do I just get a better replacment overall.

It's a Juwel MultiLux light unit with the Day and Nature Led tubes. It's around 3 months old by all accounts. Does look new to be fair.

I have been reading other forums and some say it's more than good enough to grow most plants but I'm not quite sure myself. Users are getting mixed results.

There seems to be better lighting units out there that I could possibly upgrade to, like the Twinstar G-Line that will fit in to the current lighting unit to maintain the hood on the Juwel which seems a good option.
 
Ive recently installed a Twinstar G Line and it’s been a very worthwhile upgrade. Fish, plants and hard scape all look so much better for it. Plant growth has really taken off.
 
I think you've got a good chance of growing the plants in your list. As @hypnogogia suggested, you can always update later.

I do agree with the suggestions around swapping one out for a slightly lower kelvin version as a potential first step
 
MattGriff88 said:
Hi,

I have recently been given a Juwel 240 and it has 2 x Led tubes in there.
One is Juwel LED Day 9000k 21W and the other Juwel LED Nature 6500K 21W.

Are these good enough to grow plenty of plants or do I need to replace?
Click to expand...
I have had a lot of experience with Juwel tanks and lighting, over decades.
I think the advice given for a warmer tube to complement the 6500K is really good advice. Two LEDs will be enough for all but very high light plants assuming CO2 injection. Without CO2 higher light is needed for hard water conditions and is also Iron, chelated. In hard water without injected CO2 plants need high energy to 'crack' the CO2 from the bicarbonates and iron in particular becomes in short supply. High light and hard water causes many problems/challenges, honestly I know, amongst them, lime scale, and potentially algae explosions. When your water is very hard things might get even a bit more complicated, many plants are simply intolerant of very alkaline conditions, like growing heather or camellia in the garden.
I had the larger Juwel tank for years and paid for the extra light fitting so had four T8 tubes, worked great. When T5 arrived two tubes proved enough but excess heat was an issue. With LED only for high light plants you will need a little more punch, a DIY arrangement running only during the middle part of the photo period would work fine. Juwel tanks are a bit plastic etc., but honestly, well designed and the equipment works, but I would run CO2 especially with harder water.
 
Thanks for the replies, really appreciate it!
I do plan on running CO2 but that's another thing to look at before I set the tank up.
 
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