# Led's for small tanks



## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

So i have a 10g and 5g planted betta tanks that I would like to put led lighting on, but the thing is I want to keep the tanks low tech so low lighting is a must. My question is what are some led brands that would fit my needs?


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Well, a lot of your "common" brands that planted folks like are all way too strong.. 

I see three main options here:

1) Finnex stingray is a bit on the strong side for a low tech 10 gallon but impossible, but a tad strong, somewhere in the 35-40 PAR range in my measurements (I forget exactly what the number was offhand). That's more "just barely medium" than true low light. I ended up hacking a dimmer into mine with a soldering iron (see signature block).

2) You could go with some of the lights out there that are generally overlooked as "way too dim".. The marineland 18-24" LED strip light, which replaces the old double-bright, is allegedly 16 PAR at 12", and you'd probably get a tad more when you account for substrate depth... That's definitely low light. Perhaps too low for some tastes, but it is usable depending on your plants..
http://www.marineland.com/LED-Lighting.aspx

3) you could go with something that's too bright, but with a built in dimmer. A current USA Sat+ is allegedly 36 PAR at 12" on MAX, which is also "just barely medium", but you can always turn it down a bit and get whatever you need.. running it at 80% on all channels should get you around 28.8 PAR at 12".. nice upper-end of low light.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Thanks, that was really helpful! I think I will look into the marineland option. Maybe ask/look around the forum about experience with that light.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Alright so does anyone here think that the marineland led strip light is too little light for a low light tank?


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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

i would suggest to go medium light, with a dimmer. The option of adjusting it as you need, is a very nice one. You can always downgrade, but with a low light to start, you are stuck with it. You never know, but maybe in one year you will want to go a little more advanced on that tank  just saying. 
16 PAR is 16PAR and it is half of 35PAR, nothing you can do about that.


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## plantetra (May 17, 2014)

You could try Finnex 24/7 planted +. that has adjustable brightness and the 24 hour feature. So it can be used if you plan to make it a hi tech tank later.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Well I was looking to the marineland led strip light and finnex stingray because of the price. I really don't want to spend the money I would on a planted+ and I don't see myself going into anything other then low tech with this tank. I was wondering if using crafting screen (like what you see in diy tank dividers) to help filter the light from the finnex stingray to a true low light level.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

fishkeeper01 said:


> Well I was looking to the marineland led strip light and finnex stingray because of the price. I really don't want to spend the money I would on a planted+ and I don't see myself going into anything other then low tech with this tank. I was wondering if using crafting screen (like what you see in diy tank dividers) to help filter the light from the finnex stingray to a true low light level.


I'm not sure exactly what you mean by crafting screen, but most forms of mesh are effective at reducing light levels to varying degrees.

Hoppy did some testing on gray fiberglass window screen and got about 40% reduction out of it:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/10-lighting/114756-window-screen-light-filter.html

I've heard of people using sheer fabric, white mesh fabric, and a variety of other materials to cut back PAR levels.


A layer of Glass will typically drop you about 9-14%, depending on your reflector arrangement and glass thickness.. 

Most of the light lost is due to 8% of the light being reflected. But if you've got big reflectors on a tube fixture, those will just reflect that light back into the tank. Anti-reflective coatings can also mitigate this, but that's typical of telescope lenses, not aquarium lids.

The remaining 1-6% loss is due to absorbance by the glass, and depends on how thick the glass is, and how much iron it contains. High quality low-iron glass mitigates this, but is typically used for high-end tank walls, not lids.

I have a versa-top for both my 10 gallon and 36 gallon tanks, but the 36 is made of glass quite a lot thicker than the 10 gallon. I definitely notice a difference in how much of my light makes it through the 2 lids.


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## miataisalwaystheanswer (Jun 12, 2015)

I have the same setup and was also going to do LED lighting. I plan on getting the 20" led bar by beamworks for like $20 off ebay and if ot was too bright i was going to use some taillight tint to lower the lighting. As for the 5 gallon I've seen some cheap clamp on desk lights that would work.


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## Argus (May 22, 2013)

I recently put a 



 on a 10 gal. tank. It is bright when at max (11:00 am to about 4:00 PM during the 24/7 cycle). It is sparsly sparsely planted with one Anubias petite, one Cryptocoryne wendtii, and a few stalks of Hygrophila corymbosa. This is my quarantine tank and it is currently overstocked with 6 corys, five Otos, four plays, and three swordtails. No sign of agae anywhere, but I think the fish are eating anything that appears. This tank has a DIY CO2 system.

If you don't mind instant on/instant off, you can run it off a 



. This would allow you to set whatever brightness you want and what ever color you want. It has individual RGB adjustments to customize the color. There are four buttons on the remote that can store custom color settings.


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## goodbytes (Aug 18, 2014)

I used a Finnex Stingray Clip Light on a 5 gallon to decent effect. It definitely wasn't too powerful but there was a bit of a shadow on the far side of the tank as it was an inch or two short of an ideal length.


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## AndyS (Dec 27, 2007)

Jumping in the thread for another recommendation similar, but not exactly the same. I've got a Eheim Aquastyle 9, no CO2. It currently has the stock 7 watt Eheim LED, but it's starting to die. I thought it was bad contacts with the wire bracket that carries the power to the light, but cleaning all that doesn't help. I may be able to fix it, but I'm just going to buy a new light I think.

The tank is a 12" cube. Plants are low to medium light plants. Ideas?

Was thinking Finnex Fugeray Planted + 12". Or the clip version. Those might be overkill, don't know.

Preferences for clip vs bar, and are there any other viable options that are as good for my situation for cheaper?


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## JJ09 (Sep 11, 2014)

I have a Finnex Stingray on a 10gal. I reduced the light by raising it up a bit, and it was still too bright so as a temporary measure I put plastic wrap over the glass. Just to see what would happen. My anubias started looking better- so then I switched my glass top for a sliding plastic (lexan) top I made- http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/20-diy/42194-sliding-glass-top-how-4.html#post8303825 That was just my solution, I'm sure there's better ones. I'd go with a dimmer if possible- my other tank has a light that dims in/out and it's a lot more manageable.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

For those that have read the above conversation, would plants like bacopa are hygrophila be abe to grow, or is the light too weak?


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Can anyone help me out here? Really I'm trying to decide between the finnex stingray and the marineland led strip light. So I'd any of you have par charts for those two lights or know of links that have them I would greatly appreciate it.


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## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

fishkeeper01 said:


> For those that have read the above conversation, would plants like bacopa are hygrophila be abe to grow, or is the light too weak?


Hi there. My Bacopa and Hygrophila difformis grow very well in the Fluval spec stock light, so I'm going to bet the Finnex stingray would be plenty for either plant.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Daisy Mae said:


> Hi there. My Bacopa and Hygrophila difformis grow very well in the Fluval spec stock light, so I'm going to bet the Finnex stingray would be plenty for either plant.


I was wondering if the marineland strip led would be ok


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## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

Ah, sorry, I misunderstood. 
If the Marineland led is similar to the Fluval Spec stock lights, then you're probably ok to grow the Bacopa and Hygrophila. The Fluval Specs are pretty low light, so many people are "upgrading" those.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Anyone out there have the par data specifically for the finnex stingray and marineland led strip light? I've searched all over the forum and Google and have had no luck in finding them.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Can anyone help me out here?


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

The marineland par data is on their website in the link I posted all the way back in post 2 in this thread. 

Finnex hasn't posted PAR data, but taps has

http://www.theaquaticplantsociety.org/finnex_stingray_led/

As has aquarium co op






Both of which are in the top 10 google hits for "finnex stingray par".

Sorry I haven't responded sooner, but I am on vacation and haven't been reading the forum much.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Thanks for all your HELP mattinmd


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

In reference to the link for the finnex par data, the model is a 48" stingray. Are he par readings universal for the fixtures or would they go down the smaller the light is?


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

I'm not entirely sure... my numbers are certainly consistent... 

I've got a 20" model on a 10 gallon aquarium (12" tall, about 11" to the substrate) and I get just about 40 PAR out of it without my glass topper on it.. about 36 with the glass top.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

So to update you guys, in the tank I currently have jungle val, dwarf sag, cryptocoryne wendtii, moneywort, and hygrophila difformis. Would 36 par at the substrate from a finnex stingray lead to algae problems? I've noticed that the hygrophila has some leaves melting more lower on the plant.


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## hellofishies (Jul 20, 2015)

fishkeeper01 said:


> So to update you guys, in the tank I currently have jungle val, dwarf sag, cryptocoryne wendtii, moneywort, and hygrophila difformis. Would 36 par at the substrate from a finnex stingray lead to algae problems? I've noticed that the hygrophila has some leaves melting more lower on the plant.


Initial melting, especially lower leaves on stem plants is not out of the ordinary. I would wait a little bit, and it should bounce back. If you run into algae issues, you can always consider floating plants as they love the high light at the surface, keep your water clean and reduces light that hits the bottom. Whether or not you run into algae issue can also depend on what kind of plants you have. If you have slow growing plants, you might run into this issue. 

I have a 36in stingray on my 12g long, and I usually dose normal excel dosing, and my worse algae is on moss that is expose to direct light (vs under leaves/shady places). 

BTW, I have bacopa caroliniana, and it's fine even under floaters, although slow growing


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

So getting about 36 par at the substrate shouldn't be a problem? Plants in the tank are jungle val, dwarf sag, cryptocoryne wendtii, and moneywort


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## hellofishies (Jul 20, 2015)

I would say see it goes, every tank is different :/


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Anyone else think other wise? Unlike mattinmd I don't think I could hack in my own dimmer.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

fishkeeper01 said:


> Anyone else think other wise? Unlike mattinmd I don't think I could hack in my own dimmer.


Don't underestimate yourself. All it involves is picking the part, cutting the wire from the power supply to the fixture (there are other ways but this is the most expedient) and attaching the programmer/dimmer of choice..

Voltmeter, wire cutter stripper and a screw driver..


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Didn't like the Beamswork Single Bright fixture's color rendering but it was great for a low tech 6 gallon and 10 gallon I had. I believe mine had 10,000k LED's and looking on Amazon, I am seeing some with 6500k which would be a huge improvement if that is correct. It's basically a Marineland knock off which were really pricey with poor output but these are cheap and the low output works great for low tech.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

But will I encounter a lot of algae problems with 36 par at the substrate?


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Bump


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Anyone?


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

talontsiawd said:


> It's basically a Marineland knock off which were really pricey with poor output but these are cheap and the low output works great for low tech.


Not sure knock off is really appropriate.. Probably the exact same OEM and parts..


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## mooncon1 (Oct 12, 2011)

Ive got a beamworks on a 10 gallon and don't know the par but I do like the light it is the 6500k .5 watt x33 1650 lumen it is a growing machine for low tech that I trim every 3 to 4 weeks but I like my tanks overgrown like a jungle.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

mooncon said:


> Ive got a beamworks on a 10 gallon and don't know the par but I do like the light it is the 6500k .5 watt x33 1650 lumen it is a growing machine for low tech that I trim every 3 to 4 weeks but I like my tanks overgrown like a jungle.


Anyone got par data for this? If not thenI'm going to stick with the finnex stingray.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Bump, anyone had experience with this light and if it can effectively grow plants. Or does anyone have the par data?


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## mooncon1 (Oct 12, 2011)

This is the growth I'm getting out of the beamworks


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

fishkeeper01 said:


> Bump, anyone had experience with this light and if it can effectively grow plants. Or does anyone have the par data?


This was for a fairly equivalent model .5W diodes for the Razor



> 30" Beamswork Razor 6500K (EA80):
> Center----
> 1” - 250
> 4” - 84
> ...


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

jeffkrol said:


> Not sure knock off is really appropriate.. Probably the exact same OEM and parts..


Correct, I guess you can say a "rebrand", I consider a knock off to be "built the same or similar". For example, knock off clothes or fashion stuff may be made to look similar or may be made in the same factory but it's not factory branded. But yes, I doubt they are different, other than a substantial price difference. The Marineland is/was seriously overpriced for what it is/was, the Beamswork is cheap for what it is.



As for the question of will it grow plants posted above, not sure if we are talking about the same fixture but this is a weak fixture for Beamswork, here two examples:





The second pic was in the same tank, pretty large Java Fern for a 6 gallon, not that it's a hard plant to grow, just saying, it works.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

So should I get the razor or the single bright?


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

fishkeeper01 said:


> So should I get the razor or the single bright?


Razor is the new "slimline" version.. "single brights" can be variable in type of diodes. their naming sort of sucks...

Get either based on
1) diode type which you can deduce from diode count and watts (0,5W are more current) and gross watts.
2) preferred style
3) price. Razors have a slight premium in pricing due to style and current version..


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## O2surplus (Jan 31, 2010)

There's another lighting option available for small tanks that most planted tankers don't know about yet. NanoBoxReef recently added a new "full spectrum" led array to their product line of custom built lighting products. Here's a short video that shows their newest led array along with their custom housings. 

https://player.vimeo.com/video/143253483


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Ok, also wanted to know if I will be running into any problems if I am getting about 36 par at the substrate if the plants I have in the tank are moneywort, hygrophila difformis, jungle val, dwarf sag, and cryptocoryne wendtii.


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Bump


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

Anyone?


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

fishkeeper01 said:


> Anyone?


I think you will be fine with it. The thing about it is, it's really hard to go just off PAR. PAR is a good way to gauge things but some of us have disastrous results with low light and some of us have great luck with medium or even high light which should require atleast some CO2 injection on low tech tanks. Truth be told, for myself, I have had much better luck with light higher than recommended on low tech than I have in a reasonably high light setup on a high light tank. Seems counter intuitive and I really don't know why it worked, or I may just not have known my light levels as I don't have a PAR meter but it was pretty obvious based on other PAR data, and many years in the hobby.

Basically, I know for myself, I would feel comfortable but I have a track record of great luck with more light than that. I wouldn't suggest more, per say, and you personally may or may not have problems but I would feel comfortable with that light.


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