# LED lighting



## braay (May 30, 2013)

would it be ok to use an led light strip for plant growth? Would it be safe for the dart frogs? i plan on using a 10 gallon setup


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## xTimx (Mar 14, 2013)

depends on the lumens that are being outputted. you usually need a high output LED set up, and they can be pretty expensive. 

if you have a strip light thats only putting out 400-600 lumens then your very under the range thats needed. 

people more knowledgeble can chime in on this please!


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## braay (May 30, 2013)

Thank you!
If anybody knows of a specific led strip light brand that i could use it would be appreciated. Im just looking for the most efficient light without it costing me a fortune. I've been looking at a website called ecoxotic.com they specialize in aquatic LEDs but im not sure if it would be compatible with a terrarium. Im also very interested in blue actnic LEDs but am not sure if it would be acceptable.


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

braay said:


> Thank you!
> If anybody knows of a specific led strip light brand that i could use it would be appreciated. Im just looking for the most efficient light without it costing me a fortune. I've been looking at a website called ecoxotic.com they specialize in aquatic LEDs but im not sure if it would be compatible with a terrarium. Im also very interested in blue actnic LEDs but am not sure if it would be acceptable.


I have an all Blue Ecoxotic Stunner Strip LED over one of my Terrariums.

Overall the Terrarium looked very yellow with my Coil Lights and T5's.

Now it looks much more natural and pleasant with the addition of the LED Strip that I added.

It also brings out the Blue in your Frogs.

My Azureus looked Navy Blue before and now they are a Bright Blue.

I really recommend the Ecoxotic LED's.

They also now make Freshwater Versions which would be more suitable for Live Plants in Terrariums.


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## blauw (Dec 27, 2012)

that Frog Guy said:


> I have an all Blue Ecoxotic Stunner Strip LED over one of my Terrariums.
> 
> Overall the Terrarium looked very yellow with my Coil Lights and T5's.
> 
> ...


What wattage do you use on your terrarium?


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## braay (May 30, 2013)

Is there any way you could post a photo of your terrarium that had the blue LED strip? I'm curious to see what it would look like? Is your led strip light able to grow live plants well?


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

blauw said:


> What wattage do you use on your terrarium?


I have the 3 foot strip so that one is 18 Watts.

They are 6 Watts a foot.


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## that Frog Guy (May 13, 2012)

braay said:


> Is there any way you could post a photo of your terrarium that had the blue LED strip? I'm curious to see what it would look like? Is your led strip light able to grow live plants well?


The light is an accent Light so it is not really suitable for plant growth (Unless you had a few of them).

If you want Plant Growth I would look into their Panorama Pro LED's.

They are 19 Watts a foot vs 6 Watts a foot for the Stunners Strips.


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## dormfrogger (May 20, 2013)

I've used Panorama Pro's exclusively for reef tanks. They really make colors pop and corals grow well. Which leads me to believe they may be too bright for a viv? I would definitely recommend the freshwater variant for vivs. As Frog Guy stated the stunner strips have a very low output and are mainly used to add colors to your light spectrum. 

I've read a lot of people raving about Jungle Dawn LED lights that you can screw into a fixture. Perhaps look at those depending on the look you're going for!


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## slipperheads (Oct 17, 2007)

JungleDawn would be a good choice for a simple 10gal.

You could easily get away with a single 6500K flourescent bulb over the tank, and you do not need T5 HO. That is way too much for a simple 10gal and not a rack of tanks.

Blue lighting is a no-go. For plants, you want to hit chlorophyll A and B, which is a combination of warm (~3500K) and white (6000-7000K) lighting. That is for ideal plant growth, but again, no need to overdo things for a small setup. One bulb is fine.

NOW that we have had our LED lesson,

Back to JungleDawn. The reason why people rave about this light is because it COMBINES an advantageous ratio of 3:1 LEDs of both WHITE and WARM light. Since an LED array is an assemblage of small lights, whereas a fluorescent ]tube is one type of light, we can manipulate the amount of white/ warm lights on a single setup, which is exactly what JungleDawn did. 

Find an Exo-Terra/ Zoo-med light fixture on craigslist, buy the bulb, and you're good to go with a fixture that has ideal, balanced lighting. Your pants will maintain much better color, and you'll be happier.


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## zachxbass (Apr 21, 2008)

I just got two 13 watt jungle dawns for my exo terra. Very bright! I'd follow slippers advice and get a zoo med or exo hood and get one jungle dawn bulb

Sent from my kindle fire using tapatalk


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## NickMan (Apr 1, 2007)

slipperheads said:


> JungleDawn would be a good choice for a simple 10gal.
> 
> You could easily get away with a single 6500K flourescent bulb over the tank, and you do not need T5 HO. That is way too much for a simple 10gal and not a rack of tanks.
> 
> ...




I would have to disagree with your stance on blue LEDs for plants, you are confusing visible light with PAR. Chlorophyll does not care what color temperature a bulb is, chlorophyll uses specific bands of light with more or less efficiency. Blue and Red LEDs emit narrow bands of light that hit those chlorophyll peaks very well. That is why Red/Blue LED fixtures are used by the horticulture industry - they are the most effective at growing plants. 


Chlorophyll A – Chlorophyll A is one of the main photosynthetic pigments in green plants. It absorbs light at a 660nm (red) peak wavelength which is vital for plants. It also has a second peak in the *blue* region of the spectrum at around 400-450nm.

Chlorophyll B – Chlorophyll B is another of the main photosynthetic pigments in green plants. Like Chlorophyll A, it also has two absorption peaks but at slightly different wavelengths than those of Chlorophyll A. The peaks for Chlorophyll B are located at around a 640nm (red) and at 425-475nm (*blue*).Chlorophyll_ab_spectra-en.svg


Read more Chlorophyll & other photosensitives Â» LED Grow Lights

The thing is, no one wants to stare into a viv lit by a red, blue or magenta horticulture fixture. Most people prefer light resembling the sun because it allows us to see our frogs and plants with proper color rendition. That's where the selection of lighting in the 5500-6500 K rating comes in. These lights, if sufficiently intense, contain enough of the Red and Blue wavelengths to keep plants happy. They also contain all of the other colors which is why they also look good to the human eye.

That being said, I agree that compact flouro bulbs are a great inexpensive option and that jungle dawn, Josh's Frogs Green Gro, or any other "White" LED-based light will provide great light for a viv.


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## Joe S (Jun 15, 2013)

I recently had a similar question. Take a look at my thread linked below. It should give you a general idea of some brands and options you have for LED lights. The better the light the more expensive it will be. Spectrum and K rating are things to take into consideration when choosing a light.
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/218138-lighting-question.html


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Lots.of good.suggestions like jungle dawn. One I'm not sure anyone mentioned is Finnex stingray...
AquaVibrant $33-35 and at 1 watt per gallon.should be enough especially the 660red LEDs,

Slightly more $$$ and power, fugeray planted+ $60-$69
AquaVibrant


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## Nick_ (Mar 24, 2008)

From my experience with indoor plants and vivariums/reef aquaria the bare minimum for compact growth (more like under natural sun growth) needs around .5-1.5 watts per led if it is clustered tightly not in a single or double file line. Smd put out a very shotgun spread of photons that lends to leggy growth. I prefer the results of 3-50 watt leds with reflectors or lenses. I base my thoughts on the way the light is passed to the target and price point for diy (in some cases). My cheaper cob lamps and the single or double row .25-.75 watt strips they have zero focusing and a deceptive ability to get a nice amount of par down to about 10"...yet above this and things get fried as LED output is intense. There are some awesome reads on the reefing forums on par and led lighting....probably the best on the internet and happening to directly coincide save wavelength of the plants liking. 

In short (ime) make sure the strip is .5w+ per led and the binning is of good quality. CT is best around 5-7k, many manufactures use 2k-4k as it is cheaper and the intensity of led can makeup for usability in gross output at shallow depths of contact. The forementioned opinions are my own contrived gatherings not to be taken without a nice dosing of sodium chloride


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## Dr.Hoatzin (Jul 28, 2014)

NickMan is right on target with what he said about peak wavelengths for photosynthesis--it has almost nothing to do with the Kelvin rating of the light (that seems to be either a perpetuated myth or marketing scheme within the aquarium hobby).

The other thing to keep in mind with LEDs is that you can't gauge output based on the wattage of LEDs used, as you can drive them at different levels depending on the sort of heat management and lifespan for which you're aiming, and that will drastically affect light intensity. A 1W is not a 1W is not a 1W between manufacturers. Always try to dig up PAR maps. Which is a chore since most manufacturers won't release them (although I guarantee they measure them).

Cheers,

Cara


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## eaglerock (May 30, 2013)

I went back and forth on LEDs, and at the end of the day I just went with Josh's Frogs/Jungle Dawn bulbs for the price vs quality


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

Is this 10 gallon vertical or horizontal? 

Probably the most important question I don't see any answer too. 

You want the cheapest setup? Grab a $5-10 dome light fixture from a hardware store. Then put a standard A19 bulb in it, this bulb can be a CFL ~800 lumens, or it can be a cheap LED, such as the CREE 800 lumen LEDs that go for around $5 each.

After that if you want to step up there are a number of aquarium LED lights that look very nice and are not too expensive. No need for a hood, hoods now days IMO should only be used if you are making a nice looking one out of wood or metal or something. Otherwise simple strep LEDs for aquariums of the appropriate size are cheaper and better in just about every way.


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