Would this make a good or bad LED Grow light option?

[JustSalty]

Hi y’all,

I am curious if I could use these bulbs for my approx. 65 gallon tank (36”Lx 18”Wx 25H). I was hoping to have some of our indoor non-aquatic plants (i.g. orchids, fern, bromeliads, etc.) outside the aquarium for looks and plant some basic easy/beginner aquatic plants (i.g red root floaters, Java ferns, etc.) inside to help filter & cycle the tank… I have a few of these grow lights (see pictures). Which I love using for my indoor plants, the built in timer/sensor is also is a really nice feature. But, how would these bulbs work with aquatic plants & fish? Would they create a lot of algae? or not be enough for aquatic plants?

Learning as I go… I deeply appreciate any words of wisdom from seasoned hobbyists.

Amazon.com

 

[reefing102]

Given the spectrum, you’re likely going to see a decent amount of algae. That said, they may work for some plants, I know I’ve used similar (no built in timer) for macro algae’s before and they worked okay. On a 65 the biggest issue you might run into is the water depth. They may be too weak for a lot plants at that depth. Just thoughts, I have no concrete proof.

 

[Dustin07]

For inexpensive solutions my friend has had crazy good results with simple hygger setups both on freshwater plants and non aquatic plants.. I have NOT had similar results and typically find my light to be the most important and expensive part of my tank lol.

 

[kharmaguru]

Hi y’all,

I am curious if I could use these bulbs for my approx. 65 gallon tank (36”Lx 18”Wx 25H). I was hoping to have some of our indoor non-aquatic plants (i.g. orchids, fern, bromeliads, etc.) outside the aquarium for looks and plant some basic easy/beginner aquatic plants (i.g red root floaters, Java ferns, etc.) inside to help filter & cycle the tank… I have a few of these grow lights (see pictures). Which I love using for my indoor plants, the built in timer/sensor is also is a really nice feature. But, how would these bulbs work with aquatic plants & fish? Would they create a lot of algae? or not be enough for aquatic plants?

Learning as I go… I deeply appreciate any words of wisdom from seasoned hobbyists.

Amazon.com

I used virtually the same lights to grow two mangroves for years. The picture was after the system was pulled apart but all the growth was from the bulbs.

 

[JustSalty]

I used virtually the same lights to grow two mangroves for years. The picture was after the system was pulled apart but all the growth was from the bulbs.

View attachment 32396329

Beautiful growth!

 

[JustSalty]

For inexpensive solutions my friend has had crazy good results with simple hygger setups both on freshwater plants and non aquatic plants.. I have NOT had similar results and typically find my light to be the most important and expensive part of my tank lol.


View attachment 32396328

I was just looking at this today. Haha Thank you.

 

[JustSalty]

This is the light kit came with the tank. However it looks modified from the original Aqueon. Not sure if it is good for plant growth though. I mainly would like floating plants. The substrate is just black medium grit sand (black diamond).

 

[alton]

PAR lamps from amazon work fine, just change them out every year. Just make sure to get the color you want

 

[JustSalty]

Update: I ordered a new full spectrum lighting which should be up and running by the end of today. I needed something better for my aquatic plants. Plus the grow bulbs may be growing algae…

Quick question. Does this look like algae or is fungus along us? The tank is newly setup.

I’ve had some issues with fish dropping in my other setup as well as this one as well. Which I posted on the freshwater forum. Since they are freshwater fish… here is the link incase anyone was interested:

Thread 'Dying Fish sick & stressed fish from pet stores or something else?'
Dying Fish sick & stressed fish from pet stores or something else?