# Marineland hidden led. My assessment...



## Casperhito (May 2, 2012)

Started off with one and that was great for low light but my stems suffered. Waited for another sale and picked up another one. They are the 17" model and are elevated above my tank instead of underwater. It's a 10g rimless box of shrimp water. I have the two of then connected side by side. The little bracket/housing it sits in is L shaped. Put the two together and they make a nifty light bar!
Mine is sitting roughly 10 1/2" from the substrate. The website has posted specs at 25 PAR @ 12". So i am going to call it 50 par combined. Added bonus you can adjust the angle on the lights independently. Granted they are a bit pricey but I waited around till they were on sale.
After adding the second unit my stemmed plants have really been taking off. Which encouraged me to re-scape and try my hand at a hairgrass carpet. 
Dent in the wallet....
$60 something after tax. That is for both lights. 

Now onto the negatives.... I really wish they added a dimming feature. They already have the "moonlighting" feature. It would be great to have a timer built in or even an attachment for replicating light cycles. The clear plastic tubes the strips are sealed in are designed for submergence. Mine sitting above tend to collect hard water on the plastic. The switches kinda suck and the suction cups are okay at best.

Now for the best part! The modding side of the coin. 
You can totally pop the tubes out and easily retro fit them into a preexisting hood. I think they are standard diameters even. The clips to hold then are the same. Makes for a semi-cheap moderate light led upgrade. One step further would be to remove the strips from the tubes and mount them in a proper suspended light housing. 

Well there are my feeling and thoughts on this product over the course of 4 months using them. 

Sent using voodoo through my phone to your retinas.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

Photos handy to post?


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## Casperhito (May 2, 2012)

I sure can. I'll post a couple pics when i get home.

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## Casperhito (May 2, 2012)

Here is the lightbar I made. Ignore the legs... they look horrible. I definitely need to suspend it. 

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## Casperhito (May 2, 2012)

Pardon the tank. It needs water and an external cleaning. I kinda want to give it a break for a couple days before i top it of and make it look nice.

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## Bruce_S (Jul 26, 2012)

I use these as an accent light on my 75 gallon - I don't think they're anything like bright enough to use alone for most plants. I do love the bit of glitter I get near the filter outputs, and the way the blue LEDs highlight blue-pigmented / reflective fish, even when the daylights are on as well. I love the look I get with just the moonlight and the NO T-5 flourescent at the back lit up:










One caveat - I'm on my third one. (two fit behind the rim of my 75 gallon) One of the first two failed after developing a leak.

~Bruce


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## Casperhito (May 2, 2012)

That tank looks great! Mine are on a ten gallon so i am hoping they are sufficient. If i submerge them silicone will definitely be applied. sorry to hear about the leaks, that sucks.

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## aquanoob (Jul 4, 2013)

Casperhito said:


> Here is the lightbar I made. Ignore the legs... they look horrible. I definitely need to suspend it.
> 
> Sent using voodoo through my phone to your retinas.


Just discovered this thread... a little late, but I love what you did making the 2 lights into a light bar. Any chance you could give some details on how exactly you put it together? I am thinking of going this route.:fish:


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