# If you're into LED floodlights...



## ChrisAZ (Sep 13, 2013)

Are these the smart lights they sell? Can you provide a link to the exact lights your using? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## nickandjess2008 (Jul 4, 2020)

is this it?

https://www.amazon.com/Novostella-2...2oW+rgb+led+flood+light&qid=1597280042&sr=8-5

sorry, don't know if this link actually works or not, I typed in (on Amazon) Novostella 20W rgb led flood lights and only one thing came up, that was the brand name Novostella. Maybe the link will work for someone else...again, sorry...


----------



## ChrisAZ (Sep 13, 2013)

Those are the only ones I saw too. There adjustable so I wonder what the OP set them at.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## nickandjess2008 (Jul 4, 2020)

It is a neat idea. I have seen others posting on different forums about using flood lights. I haven't (until this, that is) seen any pics of anything, though... It is a neat concept, considering that the lights that I saw on Amazon were sixty bucks for two of them. That's pretty inexpensive lighting for a 75g tank!


----------



## Crazylegs78 (Aug 12, 2020)

ChrisAZ said:


> Are these the smart lights they sell? Can you provide a link to the exact lights your using?


Here you go. I wasn't 100% that these links were allowed...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X55HSGB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bump:


nickandjess2008 said:


> is this it?
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Novostella-2...2oW+rgb+led+flood+light&qid=1597280042&sr=8-5
> 
> sorry, don't know if this link actually works or not, I typed in (on Amazon) Novostella 20W rgb led flood lights and only one thing came up, that was the brand name Novostella. Maybe the link will work for someone else...again, sorry...


Not the smart ones which are $60 per pair, but the dumb ones with a remote for $30 per pair.

Bump:


ChrisAZ said:


> Those are the only ones I saw too. There adjustable so I wonder what the OP set them at.


With the remote I just picked "W" for white and left it at the brightest setting.


----------



## Econde (Oct 13, 2015)

Do these hold settings with a timer?


----------



## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

If they are a "smart" light, ideally you should be able to schedule them and not need a timer.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk


----------



## nickandjess2008 (Jul 4, 2020)

He said that that they are the dumb ones, so, I am guessing that he bought a timer with them. It is a neat concept. 30 bucks to light a 75g tank and grow those beautiful red plants with them?!?!? That would be amazing. I kinda feel stupid for spending so much money on lighting now....


----------



## Crazylegs78 (Aug 12, 2020)

Econde said:


> Do these hold settings with a timer?


Yes, I use these on a cheap outlet timer and the settings hold. I *think* the smart ones are much more programmable, but I was only willing to drop $30 on them in case they didn't work out so well.



nickandjess2008 said:


> He said that that they are the dumb ones, so, I am guessing that he bought a timer with them. It is a neat concept. 30 bucks to light a 75g tank and grow those beautiful red plants with them?!?!? That would be amazing. I kinda feel stupid for spending so much money on lighting now....


So, notice that I do have my A. reineckii and Red swords centered under the flood lights. Where aquarium designed and built lights provide a more even light distribution that allows for infinite aquascaping possibilities, these floods have a distribution similar to a kessil. So your aquascapes must have higher light plants toward the center and lower light plants toward the edges. All of my aquarium is not well lit. The upper corners of the tank are dark, so any fish that swim in those areas are difficult to see. But, when a male albino congo tetra swims into full spectrum lighting from the dark, it's pretty damn awesome!


----------



## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

nickandjess2008 said:


> He said that that they are the dumb ones, so, I am guessing that he bought a timer with them. It is a neat concept. 30 bucks to light a 75g tank and grow those beautiful red plants with them?!?!? That would be amazing. I kinda feel stupid for spending so much money on lighting now....


Ah, I must have been thinking about the other link. I have ran the same kind of programmable LEDs (the tape ones) and the settings remained after a power cycle. I have thought about putting a couple of strips in my hood to tune the light.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk


----------



## 4WheelVFR (Dec 30, 2012)

I just ordered a pair of the 20W lights for my 1000g tank. I want to see how they look as general lighting first and then maybe I'll order some of the higher wattage versions. I don't have any plants in this tank, so it's just for general lighting. I'd like to add some large plants and moss to a couple areas of the tank though and spotlights just might do the trick.


----------



## nickandjess2008 (Jul 4, 2020)

Do you mean the strip LED's that you can cut to fit and are also sticky? So that you can attach them to a hood?

Sorry, that was supposed to be meant towards the latest comment by BunsenHoneydew. Still new at this.


----------



## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

nickandjess2008 said:


> Do you mean the strip LED's that you can cut to fit and are also sticky? So that you can attach them to a hood?
> 
> Sorry, that was supposed to be meant towards the latest comment by BunsenHoneydew. Still new at this.


Yes.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk


----------



## 4WheelVFR (Dec 30, 2012)

I've got one of these lights over the 1000g tank now and it looks pretty good for just general lighting. Keep in mind my tank is 8x4x4 so there's a lot of depth and surface area. Two of the 20's will light it up very nicely though. I may get a pair of the higher wattage lights so I can try growing some plants in a couple spots as well as some moss on my driftwood/log. I think some huge vals and java ferns along with moss would really look awesome in this tank.


----------



## stingeragents (Aug 19, 2020)

Are you running these using white lights only? If so, why do you think they are working so much better than the other white lights you were using before? I know you had said they are "full spectrum" but if they are only running using white, and not any other colors wouldn't it produce similar results to a normal 6500k setup or am I misunderstanding the whole concept. 

In any case, I picked up one to put over my fluval flex 9 gallon as I haven't been impressed with growth using stock lighting.


----------



## Crazylegs78 (Aug 12, 2020)

The floodlights I had before consisted of "daylight" leds only, i'm guessing 5,000K-6,500K. That means each diode was only white. White LEDs have a pretty poor distribution of colors throughout the spectrum, the main problem is getting both higher and lower wavelengths (red and blue) from the same diode. Generally, the higher kelvin, the more blue light at less red light. Lower kelvin means more red with less blue. White LED spectrum is the black line in the graph below.








With RBG LEDs, the visible white light that you see is produced by three individual diodes, one red, one blue, and one green. Hence "RGB". The spectrum has three peaks at the respective wavelengths. Ultimately, it boils down to ratios of wavelength input. RGB's emit a similar ratio of each wavelength, making a white light with more of the spectrum involved. 

My goal was to see more of the red from my plants, while keeping the blue spectrum high for growth. The green spectrum is mostly reflected by the plants, so they appear very green and healthy. These lights are very similar to the LED fixtures that have multiple colors of diodes in adjustable strings, like the fluval 3.0, just less adapted to our hobby. Each color button on the remote control represents a different intensity setting for the individual color strings. I would definitely use the dim adjustment on a 9 gallon tank, one of the floods lights half of my 75.


----------



## stingeragents (Aug 19, 2020)

Oh ok, that makes much more sense. I have some RGB lights around the house but they must not be full spectrum because when I set it at white, all the lights just turn white. 

I am sure one of these is overkill for my tank but other lights at the same price are very weak wattage wise. 

Light is out for delivery so I will update how it goes.

Edit. Ok lights came in and very good initial impression. Super bright and the colors on my fish and plants look a lot more vibrant. Taking some before and after plant growth pics to monitor progress with new light.


----------



## Flow (Aug 24, 2020)

I bought a pair of the 30-watt lights for my 90-gallon (340 liters), 24" (61 cm) tall tank a few months ago. A month later I opted for the 60-watt versions. They seem to work well in my tank, which has CO2 injection, ~30 ppm. But I'm wondering if I should go for the 100-watt lights. I suspect not, but I'm wondering what some of you might think. I have no idea what the PAR values are, and all my fish seem to thrive in the shade and in the open, so it's probably not too bright. Mainly my mild concern is that the plants are growin', but they ain't pearlin'.


----------



## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

stingeragents said:


> Oh ok, that makes much more sense. I have some RGB lights around the house but they must not be full spectrum because when I set it at white, all the lights just turn white.


Actually if "normal" the blending of RGB just looks white..
The other somewhat common design uses RGB and white diodes
They would in reality be more "full spectrum" than any RGB can achieve.

As usual marketing plays havoc on reality.


----------



## MEDLIGHT (Oct 31, 2020)

jeffkrol said:


> Actually if "normal" the blending of RGB just looks white..
> The other somewhat common design uses RGB and white diodes
> They would in reality be more "full spectrum" than any RGB can achieve.
> 
> As usual marketing plays havoc on reality.


In my last project I used RGB alone and the color is not total white, it tends to vary to a bluish white, nothing to do with a useful white, it is as you say ... a commercial marketing and little useful in my opinion for plants and visual


----------



## BOTIA (Dec 23, 2003)

MEDLIGHT said:


> In my last project I used RGB alone and the color is not total white, it tends to vary to a bluish white, nothing to do with a useful white, it is as you say ... a commercial marketing and little useful in my opinion for plants and visual



When you combine RGB with standalone white leds you get an improved red and blue spectrum punch to go with the normal white led's The green in the rgb keeps the CRI higher for better look for our human eyes. Plant definitely need and appreciate a little extra red and blue.


----------



## bbroush (Sep 13, 2012)

How do you position these on the tank? I also have a 75 gallon and I think this would be a cheap option but I might want them a little higher off the glass. I think I would need a hanging bar or something. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## JBeehler (Feb 25, 2013)

bbroush said:


> How do you position these on the tank? I also have a 75 gallon and I think this would be a cheap option but I might want them a little higher off the glass. I think I would need a hanging bar or something.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Easiest would be 2x4 hanging from either 2x4 or conduit mounted to wall behind aquarium so no need to put holes in ceilings.


----------



## Crazylegs78 (Aug 12, 2020)

I have a basic wooden diy canopy that holds these lights just off the surface of the tank. If you are going to hang them higher, then most definitely consider a higher wattage. Make sure to get a version with the dimming feature for fine tuning.


----------



## Clappies (Dec 17, 2017)

bbroush said:


> How do you position these on the tank? I also have a 75 gallon and I think this would be a cheap option but I might want them a little higher off the glass. I think I would need a hanging bar or something.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


This is how i did it with 5 x 30w on my 65gal.










Sent from my ELE-L09 using Tapatalk


----------



## bbroush (Sep 13, 2012)

Clappies said:


> This is how i did it with 5 x 30w on my 65gal.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I have your tank bookmarked from another post because it is stunning. I’m curious how you made the light stand/hanger.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## Clappies (Dec 17, 2017)

bbroush said:


> I have your tank bookmarked from another post because it is stunning. I’m curious how you made the light stand/hanger.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


I made it from alliminium square tubing. Basically the foot pieces sits ontop of the tank. I still wanted to make it so that i can adjust the hight of the lights but never got to doing it.

Sent from my ELE-L09 using Tapatalk


----------



## yajur (Mar 4, 2011)

Clappies said:


> This is how i did it with 5 x 30w on my 65gal.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


wow super can you share your tank height ?


----------



## Clappies (Dec 17, 2017)

yajur said:


> wow super can you share your tank height ?


Tank hight is 45cm.

Sent from my ELE-L09 using Tapatalk


----------



## Barristan (Sep 13, 2003)

Flow said:


> I bought a pair of the 30-watt lights for my 90-gallon (340 liters), 24" (61 cm) tall tank a few months ago. A month later I opted for the 60-watt versions. They seem to work well in my tank, which has CO2 injection, ~30 ppm. But I'm wondering if I should go for the 100-watt lights. I suspect not, but I'm wondering what some of you might think. I have no idea what the PAR values are, and all my fish seem to thrive in the shade and in the open, so it's probably not too bright. Mainly my mild concern is that the plants are growin', but they ain't pearlin'.



What is your opinion of these now? I'm considering the 2 60w version for my 29G. This or a Beamsworks DA fspec.


----------



## bbroush (Sep 13, 2012)

Just as an FYI, don’t be dumb like me and as a placeholder, leave these sitting directly on the glass, otherwise you’ll have nice matching cracks from heat + pressure like this
























Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## JBeehler (Feb 25, 2013)

I will post pictures when the lights turn on but I used 4 of the 20w lights over my 75. I did not care for the white setting as it was much to blue for my liking I set mine to the white setting minus 4 clicks of blue. The settings on the novastella lights with the remote is 7 settings so a little more than half the blue. Currently debating on adding another type of lighting to bring brightness up and going more towards white light.


----------



## JBeehler (Feb 25, 2013)

Hard to see the coloring with the wood waiting to sink. But this is 4x20w novastella run full intensity white but with the blue turned down to 3 out of 7 brightness.


----------



## megatrev62 (Sep 26, 2014)

Trying to make up my mind between ordering these floodlights at 60 watt version...standard 90 gallon tank, or two at 50 watt 6500k, non dimmable with just white leds/ Maybe I need four? Any help with the decision would be much appreciated.


----------



## megatrev62 (Sep 26, 2014)

Crazylegs78 said:


> I love the look of point source lights on an aquarium. The drama, the ripple effect, shadows, it can't be just me. So I've been using only led floodlights for several years now on different planted tanks and I have recently had a success that I think would benefit those in search of similar lighting ideas.
> 
> I have a 75g tank that I ran 2x30w daylight led floods on 8hrs for a year or so. I wasn't happy with the growth, color, or algae in my tank. My crypts were laying flat and greenspot algae was covering any plant leaf that was few weeks old. Here's a pic of the tank with those floods.
> 
> ...


How are you liking them now? I am trying to decide to get some of these for my 90 gallon. 24" height. Should I opt for the 60 watt or get these and maybe add 1 or 2? Thanks


----------



## codyadams81 (Feb 23, 2021)

anybody else got a picture of their setup


----------



## dlh275 (Mar 11, 2021)

Anyone with these have some ideas on sizing for my 40b? Would 2 20w be enough mounted close to the surface?


----------



## Barristan (Sep 13, 2003)

If you really want to go down this path I'd try one to see what you think. I did. Wasn't a fan of the color. Went with Chihiros WRGB 2.


----------



## ortkenj (Mar 27, 2020)

I really want insane par on my 60 gal (don't ask why! hehe) What do you think about running these two 30w lights side by side with 2x 50w 6500 floodlights? I would think it would be insanely bright and insanely capable. That's 4 floodlights on top of a 60gal. and i'd imagine light distribution would be great as well, assuming I rise the lights up by 1 1/2".


----------



## jake21 (Aug 11, 2019)

Have you tried the 60 watt version to deal with the increase depth ?



4WheelVFR said:


> I've got one of these lights over the 1000g tank now and it looks pretty good for just general lighting. Keep in mind my tank is 8x4x4 so there's a lot of depth and surface area. Two of the 20's will light it up very nicely though. I may get a pair of the higher wattage lights so I can try growing some plants in a couple spots as well as some moss on my driftwood/log. I think some huge vals and java ferns along with moss would really look awesome in this tank.


----------



## megatrev62 (Sep 26, 2014)

I bought 4x50 watt 6500k floodlights for my 90 gallon. I had them 20 inches from the surface. Algae farm. I think 2 would be plenty and I played around with distance from the surface with using just two. The algae slowly went away and got decent growth from just two floods. Easy plants. This is a non co2 tank as well. They are bright make no mistake. I however decided for now to go back to my 4 t5s, because I like the color of the tank using my t5 combo...pinks and whites.


----------



## matjie (Jun 3, 2021)

This is such a great idea! I am looking to get 3 Kogan 20W RGB CCT smart floodlights (I am in Australia) for a 17 gallon tank. I would ideally want the Chihiros WRGBII, but these floodlights are on sale at the moment, so for all three I would be paying $60 instead of $300 with a lot of similar in app features like colour adjustment, dimming and timers. This will allow me to divert more funds to a decent CO2 setup. Do you think they would be sufficient to carpet something light hungry like HC? I am planning to suspend the lights 28 inches from the lowest substrate surface, which is high, but I would like to build a hood around the lights (with reflectors to try compensate for the wide beam angle) whilst allowing decent clearance to access the tank and encourage maintenance. The tank is 24 x 12 x 13 inches (roughly converted form metric). I'm new to this so any advice would be hugely appreciated.


----------



## mmfujiusn (May 23, 2010)

Good morning from Hawaii. I was just thinking today that my plants were looking a little weak. I have the LEPower floodlights and everything is reaching. I think these are worth $30 to try out!



Crazylegs78 said:


> I love the look of point source lights on an aquarium. The drama, the ripple effect, shadows, it can't be just me. So I've been using only led floodlights for several years now on different planted tanks and I have recently had a success that I think would benefit those in search of similar lighting ideas.
> 
> I have a 75g tank that I ran 2x30w daylight led floods on 8hrs for a year or so. I wasn't happy with the growth, color, or algae in my tank. My crypts were laying flat and greenspot algae was covering any plant leaf that was few weeks old. Here's a pic of the tank with those floods.
> 
> ...


----------

