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Cheap led lighting


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OK. I bought the 2W and the 3.5W clamp on led lights both for 6.49 shipped.I had some ebay bucks left. I'll be trying  them out on a 3g and 5 g.

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-36-HI-6500K-0-50W-LED-Aquarium-Light-Freshwater-Plant-Tropical-Fish-90-cm-/301198295212?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4620d140ac

 

these seems much more apropriate for such tanks, even moss need more light that the led for 8 usd. 

 

you find the concept of this product in 2 length... the LED quality is obviously a better one.. the one you posted is just "cheap" meaning only low price but not a fair quality for tanks.

 

you find the product i posted also in other prices

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If I rememeber correctly the watts per gallon rule is out the window with led's. I use this 3.3W led fixture for my 7g tank and the lighting is more than enough. The plants growing with this fixture are all low light plants like moss, ferns, dhg and buce.Each led with this fixture is rated at 0.1W. There is a  new version of the same light which uses 0.2W. This would be too much for the 7g since the curent light is already at it's extended height. 

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-36-HI-6500K-0-50W-LED-Aquarium-Light-Freshwater-Plant-Tropical-Fish-90-cm-/301198295212?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4620d140ac

 

these seems much more apropriate for such tanks, even moss need more light that the led for 8 usd. 

 

you find the concept of this product in 2 length... the LED quality is obviously a better one.. the one you posted is just "cheap" meaning only low price but not a fair quality for tanks.

 

you find the product i posted also in other prices

I have around 7 of the Beamsworks lights on various tanks. You can't beat them for the price. I recommend the ones that you can switch between high light and low light like this one which I use for my 20L Sulawesi tank. I keep it on the low setting which only runs 6 0.50W bulbs and grown moss and ferns just fine. It also grows a nice algae on the sides of the tank walls which the shrimp are always picking at.

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I use these, you can find them for $7 fairly often

http://www.amazon.com/Waterpoof-Outdoor-Security-Floodlight-Equivalent/dp/B006STWHE4/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1420389217&sr=1-1&keywords=10w+led+flood+light

Just get the cool white ones. they are super easy to wire and as for a stand you can build one pretty easy for about $4 out of pvc

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I use these, you can find them for $7 fairly often

http://www.amazon.com/Waterpoof-Outdoor-Security-Floodlight-Equivalent/dp/B006STWHE4/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1420389217&sr=1-1&keywords=10w+led+flood+light

Just get the cool white ones. they are super easy to wire and as for a stand you can build one pretty easy for about $4 out of pvc

Those look nice for the price. What size tank are you using these with?

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I've got 3 over 2 10 gallon tanks and also 3 over a 20g long. They seem to provide good coverage if you keep them a few inches above the water, if you want more focused light you can get them really close to the water too because they are waterproof

I would say you could still use it with a tank that's a couple inches deeper too

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Which would you recommend for a 5.5 rimmed tank? I made the mistake of getting a 'kit' that said it came with LED lights. Yea.. it came with a tiny little light that goes under the hood and barely gives off any light.

 

I'm only putting low/med light plants and don't want to spend a lot of money

 

I know most are built for rimless, but have seen on youtube that using double sided 3m tape will hold them well for the clip on

 

I really should have just went for a rimless and done each piece myself since that is basically what I am doing now - lesson learned

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If you don't mind fluorescents, I am using a 13W spiral compact fluorescent over my 5.5 gallon. Color temperature is around 6500K if I remember correctly, it was very inexpensive. A clip-on desk lamp and a bulb, and you're set.

I love LEDs but could not justify another big expenditure.

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If you don't mind fluorescents, I am using a 13W spiral compact fluorescent over my 5.5 gallon. Color temperature is around 6500K if I remember correctly, it was very inexpensive. A clip-on desk lamp and a bulb, and you're set.

I love LEDs but could not justify another big expenditure.

I love that idea. I am learning the hard way how much of a pain a 'kit' can be. I thought it was just with my bettas (had to replace/fix every filter that came with every tank).  

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Yeah, no, not just bettas. Kits are how the manufacturer makes money off of tanks. Buy the tank you want and the equipment you want. You will spend a quarter of the money and not have a pile of junk to send to the garbage later!

Not the best shot of my 5.5 gallon, but you can see the light setup. I have a reptile type light dome sitting on top of a screen lid.

post-54-142051653791_thumb.jpg

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oh I like that! Does the screen get hot though? I have a cat that is pretty sure she can get to a betta or shrimp one of these days :) I would love to have it without a top but I do not trust her. She knocked over a hospital tank with a betta in it and actually scooted a 5 gallon trying to get my one betta that likes to torment her

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I use these, you can find them for $7 fairly often

http://www.amazon.com/Waterpoof-Outdoor-Security-Floodlight-Equivalent/dp/B006STWHE4/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1420389217&sr=1-1&keywords=10w+led+flood+light

Just get the cool white ones. they are super easy to wire and as for a stand you can build one pretty easy for about $4 out of pvc

 

I can make those myself, 2 of those guy have enough power for 30 gallon tall.

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The screen does not get hot, although the light does warm the water a little. Your mileage may vary on that - it depends on the distance from the bulb to the water. When I had it higher up, it wasn't warming the water, but it also decreased the light (even without the screen) to the point where some of the plants were not doing well.

We had to rewire the suction at work recently. It didn't quite take and then the motor blew so we have to redo the whole thing once we get the parts. I think I'll stick to buying lights that I can just plug in!

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