# Planted Tanks > Plant Talk >  LED lights for a planted tank

## biggles

Hi guys

I'm setting up a a 30 x 15 x 15 inch planted only tank and was thinking of using some LED light strips attached to the tankhood for illumination. Does anyone have any experiance using these. Will I get enough light to grow the plants, where can I get the best deal etc?

Besr Regards
Biggles

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## gid

Ya I'm on led too, for my 1.5f tank. But it seems like most ppl here do not use LEDs. 

Is led good enough for plants?

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## Shadow

Depending on the wattage or intensity. You probably can only grow low light plants with strips LED.

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## khseah79

Original LED aquarium lighting I think unable to support growing of high light plants. I have ordered a roll of 5meter strip LED lights using SMD 5050 LED chip to see if it is strong enough for a 3 feet planted. Each meter have about 800 lumens so hopefully with the whole 5 meters on a 3 feet tank is strong enough to grow some high light plants.

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## ngck

You could let us know how your plants are growing using led lights.

There are proven commercial led light for growing plants indoor. but they are very expensive. Have not heard anyone being successful using led for plant tank. but they are getting common. Got more and more shop selling now

........!!!!........

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## Shadow

Sure have, I know couple of peoples. I myself currently DIY ing for my 2ft tank using 6x3W LED.

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## ngck

So how is the growth rate compare to normal t5 lights?
........!!!!........

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## Shadow

Cant tell, it will take a months before you can make any conclusion

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## Jon-san

There are LED lights made for indoor plant cultivation, but question is, at what price? Most of those I've seen from the Net cost quite a pretty penny. Alternatively, you can DIY with those LED lights that use 1W or 3W type bulbs. A friend of mine just ordered from the States 7W LED bulbs that use the E27 housings. Just have to find those Ikea E27-type holders and try them out.

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## SnottyCat

I've setup my 3x1.5x1.5 ft tank to use DIY LED strip lighting. Currently using 2m (120pcs) cool-white Epistar 5050 LED strip @ $22 per meter + 1m (60pcs) blue Epistar 3528 @ $15 per meter. 
Total Lumen is around 2200lm & wattage around 28W. All mounted to an alum reflector. The white light and blue light are fitted to separate power supplies with their own timer each. White light runs 12 hrs, while blue light runs 18hrs.
It's been 1 month, and so far most of my plants seem to be doing ok and growing, with just light and so far 3 small doses of Excel.
Currently monitoring plant growth and may add another 1m (60pcs) of 5050 LED to my setup

pics of my DIY lighting IMG_0058.jpgIMG_0056.jpg

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## Shadow

what plant that you have in your tank?

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## SnottyCat

My tank a bit rojak, as some of the plants were donated (in poor condition) from my Dad
I have Java Fern, Windelov, Marimo, SG moss, Spiky moss, Asian Ambulia, Nana, Blyxia Japonica, Natans (Vallisneria Americana I think), Water Wisteria, Brazilian Pennywort, one stalk of Hydrilla, and 3 unknown plants.

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## Shadow

I see, not high requirement plants

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## Jon-san

Nice setup! Do you do DIY setups for others too? Or at least, teach how to do a DIY lightset? I know nuts about electrical stuff.

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## SnottyCat

> Nice setup! Do you do DIY setups for others too? Or at least, teach how to do a DIY lightset? I know nuts about electrical stuff.


 Sorry my workmanship sucks.

This is what I did:

First decide how much lumen lighting you need based on tank size and then calc the type & number of LEDs needed. I estimated for a low-light tank, the lumen requirements from watt-per-gallon rule (based on normal fluorescent tube's lumen output and wattage).I use Epistar 5050 cool white (6000-7000K) LED produces 14-20lm @ 0.18W....they come in a flexible strip with 60 LEDs per meter, and come in water proof versions. Think this is the most widely available LED strip in town. There are other types that have higher outputs or give better plant growth, but the 5050 seems to be most cost effective + power efficient per lumen, and so far my plants seems to grow fine under them. My total lumen is currently about 2200+Lm (both cool white + blue LED)Choose the power supply. I over-spec my power supply to be a bit more so that I can add more LEDs in the future. Currently I use only just 22W (coolwhite) + 6W (blue) = 28W for the lights.If you want a night light, they have blueish LEDs available. I think mine's too blue. I use Epistar 3825 blue 4-7lm @ 0.06W. Because I want the blue lights to stay on at night (until midnight), I use a separate power supply and timer.Write all the requirements down (including connectors, plugs and wires) on a shopping list and then goto Sim Lim Tower to find and bargain for the best prices. I got my LEDs from Angel LED Lighting (B1 Sim Lim tower far right corner). Note: the LED strips are sold by the meter, so you may need to divide the strips into equal pieces to give the best coverage for your tank. My tank is a 3 ft(90cm) tank, so I split the LED strips into 25cm pieces and arranged in 2 clusters.Some of these shops provide cutting, soldering and wiring services, but because I stingy & ghey-kiang, I choose to DIY myself, at the cost of burnt fingers and much frustration & regret. So unless you got skillz in soldering and wiring, best let the pros do all the wiring until the electric plug.I also mounted my LEDs onto a aluminum fluorescent tube reflector. (Got it together with a few theBan timers from one of the shops at Kelantan Road next to SimLim Tower). I think those plastic air-con ducts or a piece of acrylic will also work just as well, but my personal preference is the alum reflector. My tank stand also has two inverted L-shaped brackets mounted onto the legs to hang the LED lighting.The LED strips comes with double sided tape to stick to the reflector, but these are not quite strong enough. I recommend you use a heavy duty double sided tape instead, or you can drill small holes into the alumn reflector and use those cable twist ties to secure the LEDs to the reflector. Make sure to use electrical tape (SAF issue one also can) to wrap up any exposed wiring before mounting the LED strips.
Hope this helps.

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## kathy82

I'm using a 120 cm strip of warm white LED's that I bought from lightingnext on my 5 gallon Fluval Edge and it's doing a great job actually. I don't think they're even 5050's. They're just the ones that are sold as 120 white LED waterproof strip, which you can aslo search by on Ebay. No idea what the PAR or Lumens are, but it appears bright enough.

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## Berny

why are you answering a question that was asked 2 years ago?

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 4

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## armageddon

im using 10W LED flood light.. powerful spread.... and looks good for my small tank. going to test the setup soon on my 2 ft deep tank..

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## David

@berny....kathy82 is new to our forum and perhaps she did not noticed the date...its her first post.....so forgiven... :Wink:  It happens to me as well... :Wink: 

It just happened to Armageddon.....hahahahahhaa!!!!!

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## armageddon

=_=

ok...... that post was..... 2011......

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## armageddon

but anyway, for the benefit of those whom maybe keen,
10W LED flood light





flood light in action.

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## David

Hahaha...it's okay If it's 2011....interesting stuff you did there.

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## armageddon

> Hahaha...it's okay If it's 2011....interesting stuff you did there.


thats something new i came across recently. so trying out the effect. tank is running with is for almost a week. monitoring its effect. the good part is it have the shimmering effect like HM. and whats even better, its only 10W. and lastly, its cheap too...  :Smile:

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