# Marineland Double Bright vs T5 HO



## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Hi, so I ordered my Marineland DB LED 36" light, and found one locally as well. I wanted to share an interesting experience I had when I went to test the led light in the store.

I plugged the led in, and was really disappointed, because it did not seem very bright at all. I almost called to cancel my order, but thought I should compare it side by side with a36" T5 fixture first..

So we plugged in a Coralife T5 HO 36" strip, with one 39watt bulb and one actinic bulb. Side by side, the LED fixture looked significantly brighter. It has 16 x 1watt leds. It says on the box that it is 1200 lumens. 

I know the actinic light is not that bright, but I'd be happy if my LED strip is even as bright as one 39w T5 HO bulb
I'll post pictures as soon as it arrives. I'm much more optimistic now about this light working for high light plants after seeing it in action next to the coralife!. My tank is only 9"high.

Also, I got my light from amazon for only $129 shipped. Locally it costs $295.. Crazy.

Anyone else used one of these, or compared it to anything?

Or any thoughts? 

I have done a lot of searching on these lights, and seen lots of opinions, but have not yet heard of anyone actually trying them with light hungry plants..


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## yikesjason (Jul 2, 2008)

I have one on the way. For now I plan to put it on my 29 gal that I currently light with a 26w CFL. I plan to try and add some 3w leds to it and use it on a nano saltwater tank I am thinking about doing.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

yikesjason said:


> I have one on the way. For now I plan to put it on my 29 gal that I currently light with a 26w CFL. I plan to try and add some 3w leds to it and use it on a nano saltwater tank I am thinking about doing.


Where'd you get yours from?


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## vai1296 (Mar 8, 2011)

Hi,

I went to a local pet shop and this lady from Marineland was demo'ing the Double Bright LEDs for a 10 gallon (9 LEDs - 6White, 3 Blue) and I ended up buying the light for my new planted 10gal. I never really worked with LED lighting and was not sure if the light that is produced is good enough for "red" plants or any for that matter...normally we would do wattage per gallon but it is hard to really compare that with LEDs. Once i can figure out if this is alright for me to grow plants, i would like a really fast growing ground coverer...i love the way dwarf baby tears look but in the past have not been able to grow this even with CO2 injection, plant mix gravel (the "live" ones with water in the bag), and about 4.6 wpg...Any and all help would be appreciated as well as some fast growing plants...i do have a 55gal which is ready for plants as well 

Thanks in advance


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

vai1296 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I went to a local pet shop and this lady from Marineland was demo'ing the Double Bright LEDs for a 10 gallon (9 LEDs - 6White, 3 Blue) and I ended up buying the light for my new planted 10gal. I never really worked with LED lighting and was not sure if the light that is produced is good enough for "red" plants or any for that matter...normally we would do wattage per gallon but it is hard to really compare that with LEDs. Once i can figure out if this is alright for me to grow plants, i would like a really fast growing ground coverer...i love the way dwarf baby tears look but in the past have not been able to grow this even with CO2 injection, plant mix gravel (the "live" ones with water in the bag), and about 4.6 wpg...Any and all help would be appreciated as well as some fast growing plants...i do have a 55gal which is ready for plants as well
> 
> Thanks in advance


I have a feeling the LED you bought won't produce enough light for the plants you want to grow, on the tank you have. If it's a regular 10 Gallon, then it will be fairly deep, (too much water for the LED to reach through).

My tank is 36" long, but only 9" high. With 2 inches of gravel, and the light right on top, I am hoping it will be enough, but this is a lot higher light than the one you have. I bought the 36" strip, with 16 x 1Watt white LED lights. (The blue LEDs are irrelevant, more for aesthetics than anything).

I could be wrong though.. please keep us updated on how your plants grow.


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## yikesjason (Jul 2, 2008)

ADA said:


> Where'd you get yours from?


I traded for it with another member on here.


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## ridewake210 (Jan 12, 2007)

Enjoy the light Jason, i know i couldnt.


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## vai1296 (Mar 8, 2011)

I have about 2 inches of crushed coral in the tank ...trying to breed brichardi...i know i know the ph is high and all that junk but i have been able to grow many plants with the high salt/ ph/hardness with a proper light...never an LED. The light seems to illuminate the entire tank and is very bright. I ended up buying those car led strips from ebay (white ones) but do not know how i can connect them to a power source. Not really sure what to do now, but its been about a week and as of last night i saw much new growth in the plants (water sprite) not sure how to take the new grow cuz water sprite is very easy to grow and is not very demanding and have java moss in there as well...guess i can run down to the petshop this weekend and get a more light demanding plant? Any suggestions? O and i want a fast growing ground coverer for my 55gal would def like to avoid FLOATERS!


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## NJAquaBarren (Sep 16, 2009)

The double bright is plenty bright. I don't have PAR data, but it is growing many low/med light plants in my daughters 33g just fine. It us 20" off the substrate.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

NJAquaBarren said:


> The double bright is plenty bright. I don't have PAR data, but it is growing many low/med light plants in my daughters 33g just fine. It us 20" off the substrate.


So, at 20" above the substrate, you're able to grow low/med light plants, wouldn't it be MORE than enough light for high light plants if the LED is only 7 or 8 inches away from the substrate?


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

I tried one that was 20 inches from the substrate and it was nowhere near adequate - low-low light at best.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Dave-H said:


> I tried one that was 20 inches from the substrate and it was nowhere near adequate - low-low light at best.


Was your the "Double Bright?" Does it get a lot brighter as you get closer? Would 7" be substantially brighter, to the point where it may work? I guess I'll see for myself, but I'm still waiting for it to arrive.

I thought it was interesting though when I tested the T5HO alongside the Double Bright LED strip.. both 36". The LED looked way brighter.


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

Double bright, yes. It gets MUCH brighter as you get closer and the light stays in a very narrow range. Unfortunately I didn't have a PAR meter at that time so I can't give you much detail. At 7 inches I would guess that you'd have plenty of light but a narrow lit area.

Then again, I am no light expert 

The LED does look pretty good to the eye - how did you test them??


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

Dave-H said:


> Double bright, yes. It gets MUCH brighter as you get closer and the light stays in a very narrow range. Unfortunately I didn't have a PAR meter at that time so I can't give you much detail. At 7 inches I would guess that you'd have plenty of light but a narrow lit area.
> 
> Then again, I am no light expert
> 
> The LED does look pretty good to the eye - how did you test them??


I just put them side by side.. (didn't do a par reading or anything.)

My tank is very narrow (36" x 8" x 9") so I will only need a narrow lighted area. I really think/hope this light will be bright enough at that close range, for high light plants like Belem Grass, HC, Riccia etc..

It really is a pretty light huh!? I love how it looks. Also, like I said, I want this primarily because it runs SOO much cooler than any other type of light. Shrimp like colder water, so this light seems ideal for them.


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## vai1296 (Mar 8, 2011)

I saw many ground cover plants (grasses) in the low tech section and they had accicularis and elatin gratioloides w/e that is lol...do you recommend i start with those grasses for my 55gal? i just want something very fast growing to cover the bottom


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

vai1296 said:


> I saw many ground cover plants (grasses) in the low tech section and they had accicularis and elatin gratioloides w/e that is lol...do you recommend i start with those grasses for my 55gal? i just want something very fast growing to cover the bottom


As far as I know, most carpet plants will not do well under low light. Even if you can get them to live, usually they will grow tall and stringy because they are straining to get closer to the light. From my experience, you need the high light for the plants to really "hug the ground".

The plants you mentioned could be an exception though. I've never heard of those.

My knowledge is fairly limited though, as I'm fairly new to this hobby.


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## prototyp3 (Dec 5, 2007)

I had the Current-USA Powerbrites over a 2.5g tank and grew everything just fine. These appear to be similar lights. (1w LED with optics) Here are pictures showing the growth of 7 weeks under 2 strips.

The main issue was getting an even spread of light, as the optics focus the light down in tight beams. The higher the fixture is from the gravel the more spread you'll get. (the 2.5g was only 8-9" tall if I remember correctly) I really wish the Marineland fixtures staggered the LEDs instead of having them in tight rows spread so apart. That would be the most useful for trying to evenly light a planted tank.


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## vai1296 (Mar 8, 2011)

Ok, well i was looking at other lights since LED seems iffy...i can get a power compact light 2x 64watt bulbs one is white and other is blue...i dont think i should change out the blue to white should i? If i do that then i will have lets see (65x2=130...divide that by 10gal= 13wpg) lol overkill? or can i do it and leave it on for a shorter period of time....i really want some nice reds in my tank thats why i decided to get the new light and use the led for a new tank maybe a shrimp tank?


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## vai1296 (Mar 8, 2011)

ok after looking online all day i have found the following 3 light systems:

[Ebay Link Removed]

[Ebay Link Removed]

[Ebay Link Removed]


Can some one please help me select one? I want to get a light that will grow any plant...Will be using CO2 if i get any of those lights...do not care about energy cost/high temps in water.

Thanks again


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