Aquarium Lights

[bobtskutter]

I need to replace the lights on my aquarium.  It's a freshwater tank with plants and is looking very sorry for itself (lots of algae).

Has anyone ever used an LED light panel for aquarium lighting?

The panels are low voltage (they have a separate driver PSU) and (most importantly) are cheaper than actual aquarium lights!

Thanks
Bob

 

[Charles959]

I have no experience with LED lights for aquariums, but I have spent a lot of time trying to find truly excellent LED bulbs for general household use.

You might start your search here:
The Best LED Aquarium Lighting For Plants, Corals Growth in 2023

 

[Packard]

Do they have to be full-spectrum lights?  Like grow lights?

Apparently the main difference is that aquarium lights have to look white, while grow lights have to be full spectrum.  I only scanned the article.  You should read it.

Grow lights are fairly cheap and available everywhere.
https://www.nationalparkaquarium.org/aquarium-light-vs-grow-light/#

A guy I used to know used to buy antibiotics from a tropical fish store.  Apparently no prescription is required in those stores.  He used to self-medicate.  He said he read about it in Soldier of Fortune Magazine.

“Me, My AK-47 and my tropical fish.” [eek]

 

[bobtskutter]

Thank you both for the information, it is good reading.
I'm trying not to spend too much money on the fish tank, it's been a bit of a money pit in the past.  I suppose I shouldn't be too worried about cost, I am asking questions on the Festool forum after all  [laughing]

Thanks
bob

 

[Cheese]

I suppose I shouldn't be too worried about cost, I am asking questions on the Festool forum after all  [laughing]

Ya, that's like asking to recommend cheap tires for your Bentley.  [big grin]

 

[luvmytoolz]

You don't have your tank near a natural light source do you? As that will greatly promote algae growth.

We found this out the hard way when we had an aquarium in front of a window years back.

 

[peter halle]

Lighting type will depend greatly on whether the aquarium is fresh or salt, and if salt is it a fish only or a fish and coral.  What type do you have or will have?

Peter

 

[Muttley000]

I have built several fixtures for salt water coral and only systems. Rapidled.com was a great help.  Very simple project.

 

[bobtskutter]

It's a fresh water tank with plants. 190L, 50USgal, 42UKgal.
The tank is near a window, but doesn't sit in direct sunlight.

I suspect the problem is me, not enough water changes, not enough CO2 to encourage plant growth and not enough light.

I've restocked the fish, got about 20 Tetra's in there now. Plus 8 "bottom feeding cat fish" (you can tell I'm a keep aquarist can't you  )
I've increased (re-started) water changes.

I'm not going to buy a CO2 system just yet, i had one and it was pain in the a** to keep running properly!

So I'm going after lights...

Thanks
Bob

 

[Crazyraceguy]

It's a fresh water tank with plants. 190L, 50USgal, 42UKgal.
The tank is near a window, but doesn't sit in direct sunlight.

I suspect the problem is me, not enough water changes, not enough CO2 to encourage plant growth and not enough light.

I've restocked the fish, got about 20 Tetra's in there now. Plus 8 "bottom feeding cat fish" (you can tell I'm a keep aquarist can't you  )
I've increased (re-started) water changes.

I'm not going to buy a CO2 system just yet, i had one and it was pain in the a** to keep running properly!

So I'm going after lights...

Thanks
Bob

Wait, what? UK gallon??? First of all, WTH? How do I not know about this? Then, what about metric, you know like liters? What is this UK gallon based on?
Miles per gallon, in a country where you buy petrol by the liter?
I mean, I guess it makes a little sense, now that I think about it. I have heard that a "pint" (as in beer) is not the same as what we call a pint (16oz)

 

[bobtskutter]

[big grin]
That's the Chemical Engineer side of me coming out.https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Gallon

1bbl = 42USgal or 35UKgal also called "Imperial Gallon"

bbl is a measure of combustible oil volume, Blue BarreL
It's called a "Blue" barrel because the highest quality oil used to be delivered in blue barrels (when they were made of wood).

There are 8 pints in a gallon, but a USgal is smaller than an UKgal so you get less volume for your money.
It also means car fuel economy can't be compared because the fuel volume is different.  (The octane measurement is different as well but that's probably left for another topic).

The UK sells Petrol and Diesel to consumers by the Litre, it's sold by metric tonnes when shipped between different countries - probably because of the different sized pint glasses on the East and West coast of the Atlantic  ;D

regards
bob

 

[Chainring]

If you end up needing full spectrum lights, I can confirm these are awesome. High CRI and right on the color temp. I measured them with my Sekonic C-800U.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BKP9B2QM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1