# LED light for small high tech cube tanks (Fluval ebi)



## II Knucklez II (Oct 31, 2011)

Hello every one I have a Fluval Ebi tank right now running 2 of the stock 13w fluval lights that come with it. I want to switch over to LED but still want to keep the tank medium/high.

Does any one know of a good LED light for these types of aquariums with high PAR? I have seem some LED light for small tanks like mine but cant seem to find out any reviews of PAR values or if some one has had any good or bad experiences with them.


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## II Knucklez II (Oct 31, 2011)

no one has any experiences with high tech nano tanks?


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## Bluek24a4 (Mar 16, 2010)

Maybe take a look at one of those LED flood lights.


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## II Knucklez II (Oct 31, 2011)

Bluek24a4 said:


> Maybe take a look at one of those LED flood lights.


Thanks I'll take a look at them


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## defender.TX (Jan 29, 2013)

It depends on how much you want to spend. If I'm not mistaken the Fluval Ebi/Flora tank is 11.8" wide. That leaves you with a couple options: 

The Finnex FugeRay comes in a 12" wide size, but at 13" depth you're only going to see about 25 PAR with one, which is definitely low light (you would be better to stick with dual Fluval power compacts). They are cheap and compact enough that you can conceivably run two or three to push you into the high light range.

You could also use a Kessil A150W, which should be around 75-80 PAR at 13" depth - that should be enough to grow high light plants and be a nice upgrade from the dual Fluval power compacts.


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## II Knucklez II (Oct 31, 2011)

defender.TX said:


> It depends on how much you want to spend. If I'm not mistaken the Fluval Ebi/Flora tank is 11.8" wide. That leaves you with a couple options:
> 
> The Finnex FugeRay comes in a 12" wide size, but at 13" depth you're only going to see about 25 PAR with one, which is definitely low light (you would be better to stick with dual Fluval power compacts). They are cheap and compact enough that you can conceivably run two or three to push you into the high light range.
> 
> You could also use a Kessil A150W, which should be around 75-80 PAR at 13" depth - that should be enough to grow high light plants and be a nice upgrade from the dual Fluval power compacts.


 ya the FugeRay isn't enough par for my tank and I would love to get the kessil A150w but that's just to much money for me right now since I'm going to set up a 72 discus tank soon.


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## Pugman (Jan 27, 2012)

Wavepoint makes a 12" LED that I've been using on my Fluval Chi. It works well. There are 16, 1 watt led's. It mounts well on a rimless tank and I think it nice looking.


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## madness (Jul 31, 2011)

The Innovative Marine SkkyeLight LED clamp on light might give you enough PAR. The 8W version is ~$100. They have pretty good PAR charts that the manufacturer provides via PDF.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+10704+24473&pcatid=24473


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## II Knucklez II (Oct 31, 2011)

Pugman said:


> Wavepoint makes a 12" LED that I've been using on my Fluval Chi. It works well. There are 16, 1 watt led's. It mounts well on a rimless tank and I think it nice looking.


Thanks I am looking into it. Do you by any chance know the PAR value of the 12" 6500k? or have access to a PAR meter? Also what type of plants do you have in there is it really high light? I emailed wave point to see if they have any info on the PAR values already but wanted to know if you knew



madness said:


> The Innovative Marine SkkyeLight LED clamp on light might give you enough PAR. The 8W version is ~$100. They have pretty good PAR charts that the manufacturer provides via PDF.
> 
> http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+10704+24473&pcatid=24473


Thanks but seems that all of their products are for saltwater. Doesn't seem like they have 6500k or 7000k.


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

Seems there is a 12" Ray2 from Finnex now, from another thread:



MatthewCarr said:


> Thanks, AquaVibrant has a "Finnex Ray II Ultra Slim LED DB - 10000k +" at 12". That seems to be the same as the one I ordered from Amazon. Unfortunately, the product description on AquaVibrant only goes down to 16". I will try to contact Finnex and post what I hear back.
> 
> Update: I guess the light is really new. Here is what Finnex customer service said:
> 
> ...


http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2604946#post2604946

No PAR data listed yet, but the other Ray2's are approx. double the FugeRay

PS: That link appears to be a 10k + actinic saltwater light, might want to check with Lowe here on the board for the availability of the dual 7k plant light.


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## Lowe (Nov 11, 2011)

^Ditto what Mr. Jeff said

PAR should be available soon!


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## II Knucklez II (Oct 31, 2011)

jbrady33 said:


> Seems there is a 12" Ray2 from Finnex now, from another thread:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks!



Lowe said:


> ^Ditto what Mr. Jeff said
> 
> PAR should be available soon!


So there is a 7000k light coming out at 12"? I'll be checking up on the PAR thread of finnex! Do you know more or less how long


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## Pugman (Jan 27, 2012)

II Knucklez II said:


> Thanks I am looking into it. Do you by any chance know the PAR value of the 12" 6500k? or have access to a PAR meter? Also what type of plants do you have in there is it really high light? I emailed wave point to see if they have any info on the PAR values already but wanted to know if you knew


I do have a par meter. held 3" below the fixture I got 484 and at about 12" underwater it's 84. I am growing dwarf hair grass fairly well.


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## II Knucklez II (Oct 31, 2011)

Pugman said:


> I do have a par meter. held 3" below the fixture I got 484 and at about 12" underwater it's 84. I am growing dwarf hair grass fairly well.


Awesome thanks for the info my lights are about 14" from the substrate so i'm guessing the PAR wont be that far off from 84


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## Pugman (Jan 27, 2012)

I just saw Fluvals new planted nano LED. It's pretty sick and its around the $100 price range..


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## Jimmyblues (Dec 16, 2010)

*Inexpensive Fluor escent Lights OutPerform Inexpensive LED Lighting In My Experience*



II Knucklez II said:


> Hello every one I have a Fluval Ebi tank right now running 2 of the stock 13w fluval lights that come with it. I want to switch over to LED but still want to keep the tank medium/high.
> 
> Does any one know of a good LED light for these types of aquariums with high PAR? I have seem some LED light for small tanks like mine but cant seem to find out any reviews of PAR values or if some one has had any good or bad experiences with them.


 


I have not been able to find an inexpensive LED light that can outperform an inexpensive fluorescent light, when it comes to watts per gallon.

With the new LED technology there's the belief that the watts per gallon for lighting measurement is outmoded, and that par ratings are more important.

I don't know if this is really true or not.

Based on my own experience using an LED light that is rated at 700 lumens (or about 7 watts in fluorescent terms), the 700 lumens works out to about 93% of one watt of light per gallon in my 7.5 gallon cube. So something like a Fluval Ebi 13 watt light should be able to easily outperform this one, and for about 25% of the price.


Moreover, my T-5 linear fluorescent lighting systems can grow some of the more challenging plants quite well, while the inexpensive LED system that I have is barely able to grow Java Fern; which is one of the least light demanding plants that exists.

I have heard of fishkeepers using far more powerful (and very expensive) LED systems with much success, in growing all types of plants and corals. However, it is much tougher finding an inexpensive LED light to do so. In fact, I know of none.

I have also heard that the 13 watt compact fluorescent light which comes with the Fluval Ebi aquarium works well for growing low to medium light plants.

And I do know of fishkeepers who have been using two of the Fluval Ebi lights on nano aquariums (including cubes) to grow dwarf hairgrass, which in my experience, does not do well with anything less than about 2 watts per gallon of light.

However, if you have a 7.5 gallon cube and you're using two of these Fluval 13 watters, that works out to over 3 watts per gallon, which is more than enough to grow many mid to highlight plants successfully - especially if you are using ferts and injected CO2.

As for inexpensive LED's, if you are putting them in a non planted tank
they should be fine, since they do a good enough job of illuminating a small aquarium.

I am just wondering how accurate their kelvin rating is. I also wonder if there are any inexpensive LED lights on the market that offer more than about 1 watt of light per gallon of water, since these lights are so low in power that they really don't offer very much in the way of growth potential for most plants.


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## Drift Monkey (Mar 26, 2012)

A PAR38 bulb in a standard E26 base should work well. 

I've considered something like this to put over my Ebi...but I don't feel like spending the money right now.

I'm running 2 of the Ebi lights over mine right now and it seems to be doing fine...though I might end up upgrading eventually. Lower power consumption + they're LEDs. Who doesn't love the shimmering effect of LEDs?


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## dustbust_1 (Jan 17, 2012)

Ya id go with a PAR38, you can find a lot cheaper Knock offs. Depends on what you want to spend. One of the great things about LEDs is you can dim them. So if you find your growing more algae you can turn them down. Its all about balance and things are easier to balance when you have complete control over everything. 

I have a 3 gal shrimp tank with DIY CO2 and a GU10 9watt LED so its semi high tech. After a quick battle with cyano my HC is doing really well along with my Dwarf sag.


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