Fluval Quad T5 Or Aqualife Edge Led?

[bigbadboss101]

I have a 60 gal tank with community fish. Plants dont do well as the office have not much sun light. Lot of plants have passed but the one that looks like long grass (sorry dont know any names) is still doing ok. The canopy and lighting I have I think is just some cheap fluorescent light.

Would fluval quad t5 or Aqualife Edge Led be a good choice? Both are I think around $200 for a 36". Would like make much difference for plant life? For brightness and color it would for sure. Wondering if it's worth spending the $.

Substrate is fine sand from Pisces.

[ckmullin]

Quad T5HO always!

If you needed any help with plants, plant stuff etc give me a shout.

Edited December 2, 2014 by ckmullin

[fishclubgirl]

I got a single Fluval T5 for a 20 gallon and thought I'd made a mistake in purchasing it.... but I'm really pleased!! I was replacing a double coralife fixture too. I have some rarer swordplants in there and they have beautiful colour and are sending out runners. IMHO... going from a cheap fluorescent to a quad T5 is like going from a Honda civic to a Lamborghini. Granted you may have some amazing results but the upkeep will be more money, equipment and most likely algae. You can drive a Honda civic for years, have little upkeep and still get around.. Again, IMHO.. you'll be more than happy with a double fixture. Growing plants is a learning process and is easier if you start off simple. I love my planted tanks and want others to enjoy theirs too rather than get discouraged..

[fishclubgirl]

Also keep in mind, the fluvals do not come with bulbs. My single took a 22" bulb and that was around 22 dollars. I bought it as I was told I could use sunblaster bulbs... wrong... Oh well, I'm still very pleased with the results..

[Ron]

I'd go with LED but not that fixture. If Finnex was still available, I would suggest them. I mainly use LEDs for my reef tank but I also have one for my shrimp tank. My Aqua Illumination Hydra 52 fixtures are probably more than you need and/or want to spend. A bunch of reefers have been giving Evergrow LEDs good reviews and Pets and Ponds carries a model made for planted aquariums.

http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5813/c231289/p17722568.html

Might be too small for the area you want but you could plan your layout like a mixed reef tank with high light demand plants in the middle and low demand towards the edges.

[bigbadboss101]

I did order Finnex Plant+ from Amazon. Let see how that is!

[Percilus]

I know it's a little late but I too was searching for a good led for a planted tank. I am new to the hobby but I do a lot of research before I jump into something and I've come to the conclusion that for best bang for my buck the Aquaray led's by TMC are a great choice. J&L in Vancouver stocks them and that says something in itself and gives us a great place to order them from at fair prices for the quality. Anyone looking to get through a lot of hoops on this issue should research PAR vs PUR in led lighting and the difference from say T5 par and LED par readings. http://www.aquarium-...m-lighting.html good link on the subject. If you dig deeper and look hard you will find the pros using aquaray for it's awesome pur and pwm technology at a good price. Apparently in Europe these lights are all the rage but unknown to the masses in north america for many different reasons. I encourage everyone to do research on these lights, and the numerous opinions on them and the science of led lighting in general before buying say a Finnex unit. Especially when we Canadians would be jumping threw so many hoops for that light at the moment when for the same price we could get something far superior for what we want to do any ways right out of Vancouver.

I plan on purchasing the aquaray mini 400 for a small chi or standard 5.5 betta tank to start learning from experience and keep costly mistakes cheaper. Even though I've researched planted tanks to death I think it's something you gotta do a lot of the stuff not just read or watch on you tube.

I'm not saying I'm correct. But I read a lot of different articles on this subject from a lot of different sources. What I found was a bunch of marketing hoopla or un-researched bias opinions promoting this light or that light and not a lot of science backing any of it up until I ran into a article about pur vs par and started digging into things that route.

The only draw back I can see about this form of lighting is it may not make the tanks look as good as say a T5HO setup would to the actual human eye. But for me less carbon footprint, lower energy costs and great light for plants and animals is my #1 concern. Anyone who has gone to a place like Bigal's or petsmart in Edmonton or Calgary know it would not be expensive to augment looks with a cheap LED light on top of the one getting things done any ways But finding one that grows plants as well as a T5HO setup is another matter entirely.

Oh and one more thing when your looking for quality in a product look for the warranty to be massive. TMC warranty is 5 years. Good comparatively priced LED's running on decent but outdated LED technology generally have a 3 year warranty and a lot of knock off garbage has a 1 year or no warranty at all. There is a reason for this and I encourage all who invest heavily in lighting to not be lazy in finding out why.

[bigbadboss101]

I do notice a small bit of green algae (very little) and quite a bit of brown, furry algae. Right now I have the lights on 10 hours a day and minimal direct sunlight. Should I reduce the running time? I also added some Flourish Excel. Black beard algae?