# LED Lighting



## Hoorah_Aquascape (Jun 26, 2008)

Was browsing ebay for some new lighting and thought to type in "grow light" and came up with these that they use in hydroponics and other indoor horticulture. Many of them consist of approx. 160 Red LEDs and 60 Blue LEDs. I'm thinking about trying these out to see how they perform but am kind of wary of the blue/red combo over just pure white. Any input?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Led-Hydro-grow-...ryZ42225QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


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## freshyleif (Jan 9, 2008)

The LED's are being sold as grow lights? If so I say should be great I grew up with my dad using LED's for everything possible because they use so little energy. ON the other hand he always explained that hey could used in many more ways because the color of the LED depends on the amount of electricity going through, and the diode. Theoretically this should mean that he light spectrum emitted should be great for plants. I have been thinking about this for a while so I would love to know how it works for you. As far as the color goes the red and blue are the ares on the color spectrum used by plants most. The only drawback that I could think of is that without the full light spectrum of a white bulb you won't have any yellow or green which is what the human eye sees most. The look might be very different. I have a grow shop in town here and will go by and see if they have any of them and can explain how they are used in hydroponics.


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## EcoGeek (Jun 26, 2007)

LEDs have proven themselves in hydroponic growing conditions, and have reduced the costs for greenhouse operations where they have been used. So, from the perspective of plants, they are a good thing. The one variable I have not been able to find out if it will impact the use of LED grow lights in an aquarium environment is the water itself. Because of the water, you can't put the lights as close to the plants as they have done in the university experiments. (sometimes as close as 3 inches) I couldn't find any info that addressed whether or not the water acted as a filter and reduced the effectiveness of the lights.

I do have to say that I question the quality of the product in the link. I can't find a single provider of LED grow lights that has a price anywhere close to that. I found a kit on another website, very similar to the one you found assembled, the KIT was $40. Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware)

http://www.squidoo.com/led_growlights


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## EcoGeek (Jun 26, 2007)

I found a site that lists a number of North American based LED grow light suppliers with links to their sites so you can compare what I have said for yourself. If you were comparing cars that seemed to have the same features and one was 1/4 the price of the others, you would have to wonder why.

http://www.ledgrowlights.info/buy-LED-USA.php


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## EcoGeek (Jun 26, 2007)

OK, last reply, I promise.

http://www.greenpinelane.com/

This guy does comparisons of the more well known manufacturers of LED grow lights. His results verify that there is a huge difference between the different lights. The reputable manufacturers have put time, money and research into the spectrum of the LEDs they use, and have tested the results. I am not saying you need to go out and buy a $649 SuperLED Lightblaze 400, but I am saying that the more I read about grow lights it seems you get what you pay for.


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## Hoorah_Aquascape (Jun 26, 2008)

Yea I was kinda figuring that and noticed that to. There are tons of them on ebay, those were the cheapest easily. I'm gonna look around but I think I'm gonna end up purchasing one of these to see how they work out. I'll being using it in my own "farm" type setup. I live in the Barracks and technically were not suppose to have anything bigger than a few gallons. But I bought a 31 gallon opaque tupperware tub to experiment with growing aponogetons from bulbs and with various mosses. I plan on trying to make a little extra cash along the way of course. I'm making an enclosed setup so essentially all that will be seen is a big blue tupperware tub with 2 wires coming out of the lid under my bed


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