Understanding WHY lights are so important.

[blankets3]

Im planning on using Led's to light my tank but im not 100% sure what the lights in the take are used for, i know they help the plants grow but im not sure how/why?

do they need full spectrum? more blue more red? does color even matter? can i use pink ? (which i would love to do if possible)

I want to use leds since its very cheep to get them for me and they run on much less power or should i be getting the full spectrum leds

also does wattage matter? and why does it matter?

Thanks.

[Blue Whale]

Vinz one of the forum administrator and created the calculator to guide fellow forumers on the watt per gallon or wpg.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum/aq_calculator.php
Without sufficient light, photosynthesis of the plant would be hamper. Plant do not have sufficient food will die off. And of course, it depends on your water plant selection too.

[ervinelin]

Im planning on using Led's to light my tank but im not 100% sure what the lights in the take are used for, i know they help the plants grow but im not sure how/why?

do they need full spectrum? more blue more red? does color even matter? can i use pink ? (which i would love to do if possible)

I want to use leds since its very cheep to get them for me and they run on much less power or should i be getting the full spectrum leds

also does wattage matter? and why does it matter?

Thanks.

No you don't need the full spectrum. If I'm not mistaken a particular red is one of the most effective but of course it looks horrible for your fish tank.

Go google "grow lights" or "grow lights LED", and you'll see what kind of colours are used for such lights. Yes your plant will grow, but it'll look really weird.

LEDs are cheaper? No not true, I think you are referring to low powered LEDs, which are not bright enough for plants. You need A LOT of LEDs or a fair number of high output LEDs. Either way using LEDs to light your fishtank is still IMO more expensive than PLs/T5s.

Wattage of course matters, but not just wattage, more so the lux/par (forgot which is the exact term) that reaches your plants. You can have 1000W but if you place that 1000W 10m away from your tank, then it's pointless.

It seems like you need to read up a fair bit more. Just search the internet, there are tons of articles on how photosynthesis works.

[accordztech]

Like these? They now have cree LEDS

http://www.exotic-aquarium.com/led.html

[blankets3]

I looked at the light calculator, I dont really understand how to use it. i have a 10 gallon tank. :\

does some 1 mind helping me figure this out

I was looking at this ebay store...

http://stores.shop.ebay.ca/Mix-Wholesale__W0QQ_armrsZ1

The color doesn't matter to me so red would be fine, if they have pink I'd probably want that more tho.

thanks for help!

[BFG]

Blankets3, from the info I gather in the net, you should opt for 3w led instead of 1w led. Each led need an optic to focus the light downward. The cree type/brand are the ones to go for.

Hope this helps!

[accordztech]

make sure with the cree type ones you get one with some type of heatsink, heat kills those LEDs

[Shadow]

Yes light is important for photosynthesis. Without light all plants will die.

Spectrum is more important than wattage. Try Google for photosynthesis, you should be able to find the article on the spectrum. Make sure your light have the right spectrum that plants need.

[BFG]

Yes, spectrum is important but useful in certain application. If you need to grow plants, you need to choose those that the plants require. However, wattage and PAR are more important in that you would need higher wattage led for the light to penetrate deeper into the tank and that the PAR will tell you how much your plants are getting and where in the tank does the level indicate whether the plants receive enough of the light.

If you see lights reaching at the substrate, it doesn't indicate that it is enough. Only when plants are struggling to survive or withered would you realized that you did not have enough PAR level at that particular area.

Hope this helps!

[Shadow]

PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) is a function of spectrum. Knowing the wattage or even the lumen does not really tell you the PAR. Question is how to easily measure par without those expensive gadget?

[BFG]

Cheaper alternative is to look at other user who have done and display their test on forums.