# 180 LED Lighting



## apuhl20 (Mar 1, 2012)

I am in the process of switching over my 180g reef to a planted tank. It has been a few years since I've had a FW tank, so I have to get back into it. I want to light it with LEDs. I know what to look for with a reef, but not sure with FW. What are my targets/colors etc. It will be heavily planted. I'm assuming whites and reds, but if someone has a ratio of cool/warm/neutral whites, red, blues, etc that would be awesome. Thanks


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## Rane (Feb 18, 2012)

apuhl20 said:


> I am in the process of switching over my 180g reef to a planted tank. It has been a few years since I've had a FW tank, so I have to get back into it. I want to light it with LEDs. I know what to look for with a reef, but not sure with FW. What are my targets/colors etc. It will be heavily planted. I'm assuming whites and reds, but if someone has a ratio of cool/warm/neutral whites, red, blues, etc that would be awesome. Thanks


I think for freshwater pretty much all you have to worry about is getting LEDs somewhere in the 6500k range, even then I've read some threads that say it doesn't even really matter, just as long as there's enough light.

Some people say the 6500k can wash out colors a bit and suggest alternating between warm white (around 3000k) and cool white (around 6500k) for a more balanced look. They said reds are noticeable in the tank and don't look too good. I'm doing par38 leds and will just be using 6500k bulbs.


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## myjohnson (Jan 16, 2007)

I would aim for 8k.

Clean white.


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## Rane (Feb 18, 2012)

myjohnson said:


> I would aim for 8k.
> 
> Clean white.


Isn't 8000k more blue? Harder to find also.


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## mstubenfoll (Jan 22, 2012)

Did you ever make your decision on the lighting?

Are LED's at the right kelvin sufficient for deep freshwater tanks?


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Most people are using the CREE cool white LEDs to light planted tanks. They're 5,000k-8,000k and make good penetration to the substrate.


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