# Zoo Med Reptisun LED



## Honey Badger (Aug 6, 2014)

Hi!

I was hoping to improve plant growth and colour in my 60cm high by 45cm wide exo terra, I am currently using t8 lighting. I would use t5 ho but I am not as the vivarium is only 45cm in width.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the led only reptisun hood and if it was any good for plant growth and colour in a 60cm high tank and if anyone knew the lumen output.

Many Thanks!


Edit: I am also considering two 13 watt jungle dawn LED's and buying an exo terra 45cm hood for them, would this provide great lighting for a 60cm high tank, even for plants in the substrate?


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## Celtic Aaron (Jun 12, 2013)

Honey Badger said:


> Hi!
> 
> I was hoping to improve plant growth and colour in my 60cm high by 45cm wide exo terra, I am currently using t8 lighting. I would use t5 ho but I am not as the vivarium is only 45cm in width.
> 
> ...


Hi and welcome!

I happen to use both the ZooMed led and the Jungle Dawn 13w led. I do not necessarily have a preference for one over the other at this point; however, I will say that both vivs are growing very well (pics included...probably 2-3 months ago). 

I am not sure about the lumen output on the ZooMed. I will say that it seems to work well and does not create much heat. The Jungle Dawns also work very well, but the body of the Jungle Dawns get rather hot. I use them in an ExoTerra hood. In order to allow some of the heat to dissipate I took out the reflectors from the top of the hood.

Either way you go, I am sure that you will be happy. With that said, there is also a lot of discussion and information in these forums about lighting in general, and my suggestion is to explore your other options before you pull the trigger.


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## Honey Badger (Aug 6, 2014)

Celtic Aaron said:


> Hi and welcome!
> 
> I happen to use both the ZooMed led and the Jungle Dawn 13w led. I do not necessarily have a preference for one over the other at this point; however, I will say that both vivs are growing very well (pics included...probably 2-3 months ago).
> 
> ...


Thank you for your help! The zoo med led is quite new still so there doesn't seem to be too much information or reviews at the moment. I am hoping with LED's I will see a really significant improvement in colour! I might go for the 2 13 watt jungle dawns option as they have so many good reviews.


Here are my original plants:


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## Celtic Aaron (Jun 12, 2013)

Beautiful plants! I am sure that you will not be unhappy...I am not. Just be aware of what I am saying about the heat of the unit. I had to take out the reflectors in my ExoTerra hood to allow that heat to dissapate.


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## J.T.Tanks (Jul 16, 2014)

I have seen the zoo med reptisun led hood and I think it is a very neat idea. I have never used one before but I think it will work very well for vivarium lighting if you can afford the $105 price tag. Other than the price I think it will work perfect for the plants and happy frogging


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## Celtic Aaron (Jun 12, 2013)

$105!? Maybe I got a deal, but I only paid $60 from LLL Reptile.


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## J.T.Tanks (Jul 16, 2014)

I just went their website today and the 14 inch version was $105


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## Coqui (Jan 17, 2013)

You might want to look into the Finnex dual 7000k Led. That is the light I am using now on my 20 inch wide x 24 inch high tank. My broms have actually flowered and my orchid has bloomed using this light. Moss is doing nicely. Heat is minimal and I believe for your size tank the cost is around 75.00 on amazon. 
I provided a pic for reference.


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## Ray (May 12, 2009)

I really think you'd be better off with a standard incandescent-bulb hood, and either Jungle Dawn LEDs or some that have added red, specifically for plants (check your PM).

The ZooMed ones are just too weak for the cost:


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## Honey Badger (Aug 6, 2014)

Thanks for the help guys! Some great vivarium pictures in the thread!

I would definitely be interested in the finnex hood, as I am after flowering bromeliads and great colours, but I don't think it is available in the U.K sadly.

As you pointed out Ray I am not sure the zoo med hood would be as good as 2 13 watt jungle dawns due to it only being 10 watts in total, compared to the 26 watts of the jungle dawns. The design is definitely appealing and perhaps if they could increase the power it might be a great option, although I am still interested to hear how people get on with it.


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## Celtic Aaron (Jun 12, 2013)

J.T.Tanks said:


> I just went their website today and the 14 inch version was $105


Sorry about that. You are right, thanks. The one I have is their 18" Aquasun LED HO Fixture.  I didn't even realize they had a different one.


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## J.T.Tanks (Jul 16, 2014)

Celtic Aaron said:


> Sorry about that. You are right, thanks. The one I have is their 18" Aquasun LED HO Fixture.  I didn't even realize they had a different one.


Yeah they have made a lot of different fixtures for sale on lllreptile


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

The zoomed reptisun is kind of cool. It allows you to fit in a T5 light. They target it at UV but I see no reason you could not add any T5 light, and you could even get one of those t5 format LED strips. However you are paying a premium for the modularity. If you are not going to use the t5 bulb why pay the premium?

The zoomed would be great if you wanted the UV, or wanted to mess around with different layouts and combinations of the little boards they have. 

I would even say if you want to stick with the jungle dawns and you want to color up bromeliads you should evenly space 3 of them over your tank. And exo terra doesn't make such a hood. 

Another option would be to purchase 2 LED strip lights that are designed for planted tanks. Such as the finnex planted plus. This would probably look better and provide more even lighting.


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## Honey Badger (Aug 6, 2014)

Pubfiction said:


> The zoomed reptisun is kind of cool. It allows you to fit in a T5 light. They target it at UV but I see no reason you could not add any T5 light, and you could even get one of those t5 format LED strips. However you are paying a premium for the modularity. If you are not going to use the t5 bulb why pay the premium?
> 
> The zoomed would be great if you wanted the UV, or wanted to mess around with different layouts and combinations of the little boards they have.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the suggestion, to start with I will be combining the 2 JDs with my dual t8 canopy so hopefully that will more than suffice, I will be very disappointed if it doesn't!


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## Kerrek (Jul 11, 2013)

Ray said:


> I really think you'd be better off with a standard incandescent-bulb hood, and either Jungle Dawn LEDs or some that have added red, specifically for plants (check your PM).
> 
> The ZooMed ones are just too weak for the cost:


I've bought a few of the zoomeds (LED Only) and have been very happy so far. They are not as bright as the 13w Screw in LEDs but they are much cooler and put off a much softer light. 

I have a 36" one on a 36x24x24 exo as well as on a 36x18x18 exo and I'm happy with both. They work really well for the 12x12x18 and 18x18x24 exos. My broms all seem to be doing very well and some are putting off pups. Not really happy with the 24x24x18 exo coverage though they need an extra 1/2 or full module in there. It is still adequate though. Being in Florida I need to cut down heat any way I can and the Reptisuns do that for me. 

And price wise they aren't a ton more than the exo hoods with jungle dawns. (pricing from LLL and Petmountain no real reason just came up first in the search) 

a 12" exo @ $17 + $25 for a Jungle Dawn is $42 the Reptisun is $56
an 18" exo @ $24 + $50 for 2 Jungle Dawns is $74 the Reptisun is $76
a 24" exo @ $30 + $75 for 3 Jungle Dawns is $104 the Reptisun is $76 
a 36" exo @ $50 + $100 for 4 Jungle Dawns is $150 the Reptisun is $140 


36x18x18 










36x24x24 



















Brom putting off a pup in 36x24x24










18x18x24 










12x12x18's


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## JPP (Mar 25, 2015)

I realize this isn't a current thread. But I'm curious to know how well the Reptisun LED unit has worked for people longer term, now that its been out for a little while. Anyone using it have any info they'd like to share?


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