AFFORDABLE LIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS

[Mike11694]

Looking for recommendations on decent quality brands of light that aren't super expensive. Just getting into planted tanks, looking for a 75 gallon tank, some people refer me to eBay but unsure as to the quality of certain brands.

 

[Fat Homer]

Cheapest way is to rig yourself something up with a ballast that supports T5 tube lighting...

Great way to start, and if you dont like planted tanks not too much money out of pocket...

 

[Mike11694]

I have the knowledge and skills to probably accomplish this idea, but was thinking something more ready made

 

[fisheatfish]

Going cheap with lighting in a planted tank is not the way to go. I went that route and realized I wasted money. Spend good money on quality lighting and you will not regret it.

 

[Mike11694]

I didn't say cheap, I just want the most for my money. So many brands to choose from.

 

[chanathon]

The guys at plantedtank forums are saying the beamswork dhl series is pretty decent with its PAR ratings.

 

[tiger15]

No need to buy the named brand. Ebay sell many LEDs at great value. Just make sure there is rating on the lumen and that each diode is at least 0.5w. Watch out for unrated or low diode LEDs which can be very dim and is useless for planted tank.

I bought two of these strip LED for my 75 planted tank with total lumen equivalent to a double 48" T8 shop light.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-48-LED-L...hash=item3d2fb2b5e1:m:mPHvG4uNw2HEPubEFdu-y6Q

 

[skjl47]

light that aren't super expensive

thinking something more ready made

Hello; I have made these suggestions before and they will give good light and will be cost effective. They have been however somewhat dismissed for what I think were style reasons.

First for around $35 get one of the LED shop lights now available. I picked one up last year with the notion of replacing a fluorescent unit over my work bench. I put it on aa four foot tank to see how well it lit up and have left it there. The live plants have done very well. I have had to harvest some plants to open up space twice so far.

The other thing I have done in the last few years is to convert my old hoods to tank the screw in LED bulbs. This also has worked well both in terms of live plants and a decent look.

 

[Danyal]

there's a knockoff of the finnex 24/7 that I picked up for my 20g vivarium and used with another LED bar for good results(turned my Selaginella moss pink) then I gave it to my mom for her 20g planted tank and with just the one fixture it's done phenomenally well for her mostly low light plants.
There is a 48" version for 50$ or if you've got a bigger budget some of the beamswork fixtures are incredible, like the 1w DHL or .5w Pent, that are pretty universally praised within the planted tank and vivarium communities. My personal favorite is the 3w versions because they are so incredibly intense but you should only use them for high-light demanding plants, they tend to nuke plants that aren't as tolerant of higher light levels. For a tank as wide as a 75g you might consider using 2 fixtures for good coverage.