# Question about LED spotlights



## ChrisAZ (Sep 6, 2012)

Hello, I'm looking for some help on lighting a large vivarium. The dimensions are 45" tall,30" wide and 20"deep. I currently have 3 55w PL lights(2 6700k & 1 5500k with reflectors), and one 2' 5%UV t5. These are great lights however I'm not getting the penetration of light to the plants at the bottom I would like. I am considering a LED spotlight or two to better direct light towards the bottom. My question is do any of you have any specific help to offer as far as wattage, type of LED, spectrum, lens type etc... Does anyone have or know of someone who does have experience lighting a vivarium this tall? The concern is not for the animals inside but for growing healthy thriving moss and plants top to bottom(mostly orchids and ferns). I have found LED spotlights varying from aquarium spot lamps to grow lights to standard industrial lights. Any input? Thanks!


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

ChrisAZ said:


> Hello, I'm looking for some help on lighting a large vivarium. The dimensions are 45" tall,30" wide and 20"deep. I currently have 3 55w PL lights(2 6700k & 1 5500k with reflectors), and one 2' 5%UV t5. These are great lights however I'm not getting the penetration of light to the plants at the bottom I would like. I am considering a LED spotlight or two to better direct light towards the bottom. My question is do any of you have any specific help to offer as far as wattage, type of LED, spectrum, lens type etc... Does anyone have or know of someone who does have experience lighting a vivarium this tall? The concern is not for the animals inside but for growing healthy thriving moss and plants top to bottom(mostly orchids and ferns). I have found LED spotlights varying from aquarium spot lamps to grow lights to standard industrial lights. Any input? Thanks!


What is your price range?


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## ChrisAZ (Sep 6, 2012)

I don't have a specific price limit in mind I am well aware that LEDs are pricey. This has been a long term project with many investments along the way. I'm interested in finding out what my options are and hopefully finding members that are willing to share some success stories in lighting a viv this size.


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## NathanB (Jan 21, 2008)

If you want a spotlight, try a Kessil Amazon Sun. 
Otherwise, look to well reviewed reef style lighting that offers a model with the correct color


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

ChrisAZ said:


> I don't have a specific price limit in mind I am well aware that LEDs are pricey. This has been a long term project with many investments along the way. I'm interested in finding out what my options are and hopefully finding members that are willing to share some success stories in lighting a viv this size.


Well marty (mistking.com) has that super powerful Led spot with the Fx modes on it. You might need 2 and they are almost 400 each. Then if that isn't enough you could add a couple incandescent strip lights with some Jungle dawns or grow n glow from Todd at lightyourreptiles.com

That would probably work, but not exactly cheap. That is going to be a hard tank to light cheap though.


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## ChrisAZ (Sep 6, 2012)

Thanks guys! The LED Mist King offers isn't quite what I had in mind. The Amazon Sun from Kessil is one I'll be considering though. I'm hoping to get a full range of options before making this kind of investment. I'd consider a DIY as well if it was based on someones solid experience. Anyone have anything else in mind? I'm sure there must be lots of people with large viv's like this, I'd love to here from someone with actual experience with something this size.


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## NathanB (Jan 21, 2008)

I have built diy fixtures. If you're up to it, I would definitely go that route


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## ndame88 (Sep 24, 2010)

A year and a half ago, I was in the same boat as you, my 36Lx18wx48H, needed lighting to reach the bottom, called Todd and at the time he had "JD Giant Spots", unfortunately, he no longer sells them, the work great. Might want to search for LED Flood Lights at 6500k. My viv currently has 2 x JD Giant Spots and a quad 36 inch T5HO with Arcadia bulbs.


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## ChrisAZ (Sep 6, 2012)

Thanks Nathan if I go that route I may contact you for further info if that's okay. And ndame88, do you have any pictures posted of your viv? I'd love to see them!


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## ndame88 (Sep 24, 2010)

ChrisAZ said:


> Thanks Nathan if I go that route I may contact you for further info if that's okay. And ndame88, do you have any pictures posted of your viv? I'd love to see them!


This is from June, a few plants have changed


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## ChrisAZ (Sep 6, 2012)

Looks very nice! Thank you for posting this! How long have you had this setup going? I'd love to see other members with similar tall vivs post pictures of their's and explain what kind of lighting set up they use. The proof is in the pics. Who has tall vivs with thriving plants? Please show us what kind of lighting is working for you.


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## skanderson (Aug 25, 2011)

a diy fixture using bridgelux bxra 950s would be good on this. i have 4 on my new 2'x2'x4' tall viv and am getting parr levels of between 100 and 200 at the viv floor. that is very very bright. meaning reef tank bright. to do a build your size you would need a power supply capable of supplying 48 watts, a driver that can drive 2 of them like a meanwell ldd1000, 2 bxra 950s, a heatsink and either mounts or adhesive to mount the leds to the heatsinks, and 2 lenses. this could all be bought for under 100 bucks i bet. the color temp i like is 4000k. i will post pics of mine when i start the new build thread.


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## mongo77 (Apr 28, 2008)

Hello, I think a lot of it has to do with the layout of the tank vs the light. I have a 36 inch tall tank and after a while the plants towards the top of the tank start to block a lot of light. I know people say trim, but with frog tanks a lot of the plants we use are brims and you really can't trim them.


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## ndame88 (Sep 24, 2010)

ChrisAZ said:


> Looks very nice! Thank you for posting this! How long have you had this setup going? I'd love to see other members with similar tall vivs post pictures of their's and explain what kind of lighting set up they use. The proof is in the pics. Who has tall vivs with thriving plants? Please show us what kind of lighting is working for you.


Thank you, Its been up for a little over a year now, really wanting to move out the 6 RETFs and put in a colony of thumbs, but I can't convince my 11 year old daughter.


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## TerraFerma (Feb 20, 2011)

If you are game for DIY:

1) Cree XM-L

2) Phillips Luxeon M

Both have the punch to hit the bottom of your tank. To grossly oversimplify things: the Cree XM-L uses a fancier and more expensive ballast than the Luxeon M. Both will do the job well. 

That said, I've had better results using more lower power LED's vs. fewer higher power LEDs. But...THAT SAID...if the higher power LED's are high up and can truly spread their output I'm sure they will be absolutely fine.


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## ChrisAZ (Sep 6, 2012)

skanderson said:


> a diy fixture using bridgelux bxra 950s would be good on this. i have 4 on my new 2'x2'x4' tall viv and am getting parr levels of between 100 and 200 at the viv floor. that is very very bright. meaning reef tank bright. to do a build your size you would need a power supply capable of supplying 48 watts, a driver that can drive 2 of them like a meanwell ldd1000, 2 bxra 950s, a heatsink and either mounts or adhesive to mount the leds to the heatsinks, and 2 lenses. this could all be bought for under 100 bucks i bet. the color temp i like is 4000k. i will post pics of mine when i start the new build thread.


Thank you for the details this is useful info. I've looked into this a bit more and found some additional ideas on aquarium forums like doing a cluster with one bridgelux bxra 950 in the center and several small blue and light blue(etc..) chips surrounding it in order to achieve an ideal spectrum. Any thoughts on tweaking the spectrum for ideal plant growth?


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## ChrisAZ (Sep 6, 2012)

TerraFerma said:


> If you are game for DIY:
> 
> 1) Cree XM-L
> 
> ...


Okay lets say I was to keep the PL lights I have and mount them towards the back (like ndame88's viv on the previous page) then add a bar of leds in front instead of high powered spots. What sort led layout would you recommend for this light bar? Colors,watts,number of lights etc...


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## my_shed (Feb 8, 2013)

Hi, this may be of some use to you. I have a 4 foot high, 3 foot wide 18 inch deep chameleon viv, fully planted. These aren't the best pics and don't really show off the lighting at all but here goes





This viv has a T8 UV tube (Arcadia 6%) at the top, a 4000k T8 tube on the centre divider and a couple of these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CREE-LED-PERFECT-REPLACING-HALOGEN/dp/B006BZD12W/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1378809930&sr=8-17&keywords=LED+GU10++cool+white+spot+light+bulbs

to punch light into the depths. Now it's not perfect at the moment, and obviously you won't have the luxury of putting a lamp a third of the way down the viv, but for a low cost (and supposedly temporary, although they may become permanent) solution, these spotlights actually punch a lot of light down to the lower levels. In fact, the only decent moss growth in this viv is about 18 inches below one of them.

I will be putting these on my shopping list for a number of upcoming viv builds, for the cost they're great. Used alongside other light sources you don't get the spotlighting effect but you can use these to focus the light exactly where needed. I'm sure you can find similar products available near you.

Hope this helps

Dave

edit: this picture was taken several months ago, the viv has since changed somewhat, but the plant growth is more than acceptable, broms pupping, lipstick plant taking over and calatheas doing very well, as well as reasonable orchid growth. Without dedicated 6500k lamps except the spotlights, I think this speaks well for them.


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