In April, 2011, I decided to try growing plants using LED's. I purchased a Marineland LED double bright fixture. The fixture does a good job growing low light plants, and the tank maintenance is minimal. Here are the specs of the tank:
Tank: 10 gallon, 20" x 10.25" x 12.5"
Lights: Marineland LED Double Bright, 18" - 24" fixture, sitting on the rim of the open top tank
Substrate, Eco-Complete
Filter: AquaClear Mini
Heater, 50 watt
Temp: 24 c., 1 ml Flourish Excel daily, .5 Flourish Comprehensive weekly, water change, 25%, every two weeks
Flora:
Hygrophila polysperma and polysperma 'Rosanervig', Cryptocorne wendtii 'brown', Cryptocorne parva, an unknown Cryptocorne, Echinodorus ozelot, Microsorium pteropus, Bacopa caroliniana and monnieri, Anubias barteri 'Nana', Hemianthus micranthemoides, Heteranthera zosterifolia, Hydrocotyle leucocephala
Fauna:
Neon tetra, Amano shrimp, otocinlus
Looks awesome! Is that the one you can pick up from petsmart for relatively low cost right?
Looking good! Nice growth on the crypt parva!
Good job it shows that planted tanks can be had in various forms, keep up the great job & thanks for sharing.
Errol
That's one of the nicest planted tanks I've ever seen! Great job! Makes me want to try again!
Nice one Valarie! I always wondered about LEDs and it looks good!
Bettabreeder,
I bought the LED fixture from MOPS. Petsmart probably carries it, too.
Thanks, everyone. I enjoy this little tank. It sits next to my computer :)
Very nice & clean setup. The.. uhh.. plants look real nice... Especially the... umm.. green ones -- with leaves.
Some day, I'm going to do something like this with a little 10G I have collecting dust. I've only ever had plastic plants in fresh tanks, about 20 years ago. I love the idea of having a nice peaceful tank like this with lush, healthy plants of some sort. Neon tetras are perfect!
Quote from: touchofsky on January 30, 2012, 11:21:34 PM
Bettabreeder,
I bought the LED fixture from MOPS. Petsmart probably carries it, too.
On sale at MOPS :)
Oh no... I see credit card usage for me in the near future. My ten gallon could use LED's. :)
I'm just about to pull the trigger on a 24-36" fixture for a 25G I have waiting to be setup (30" x 12" x 16").
It's going in the living room and would look pretty slick sitting on top of the tank. I want plants in this tank but extremely low-tech and I'm thinking this would fit the bill perfectly.
Someone convince me otherwise before I order it :)
That 10G of yours looks great Valerie, very slick, love the look of the light!
Quote from: bizfromqc on February 01, 2012, 10:49:55 AM
I'm just about to pull the trigger on a 24-36" fixture for a 25G I have waiting to be setup (30" x 12" x 16").
It's going in the living room and would look pretty slick sitting on top of the tank. I want plants in this tank but extremely low-tech and I'm thinking this would fit the bill perfectly.
Someone convince me otherwise before I order it :)
That 10G of yours looks great Valerie, very slick, love the look of the light!
Take a look @ La Niche`s tank with the double bright fixture & see what is growing in that tank, that will give you a good indicator of what is possible .
Errol
You got PM ;)
Funny you mentioned that tank, that's one of the first thing that caught my eye when I first walked into the store a little while ago.
Quote from: bizfromqc on February 01, 2012, 10:49:55 AM
Someone convince me otherwise before I order it :)
Lol I feel like getting one too! I wonder if a group order is in order.. lol.. when i checked, it seems shipping goes down as more units get added.. from 8.57 for one to 4.2 for three! ?!
I was at La Niche last week for the first time and admired a tank near the fish room with a nymphea as a centre piece. Foolishly, I didn't notice what the lighting was. Is the the one with the LED fixture?
Quote from: daworldisblack on February 01, 2012, 11:38:40 AM
Lol I feel like getting one too! I wonder if a group order is in order.. lol.. when i checked, it seems shipping goes down as more units get added.. from 8.57 for one to 4.2 for three! ?!
I would have totally been up for that except I just struck a deal with Errol to get his ML DB 24-36" 8)
(Sorry to hijack your thread Valerie)
Quote from: bizfromqc on February 01, 2012, 12:48:36 PM
I would have totally been up for that except I just struck a deal with Errol to get his ML DB 24-36" 8)
(Sorry to hijack your thread Valerie)
Shhh i only have 1 ;D
Sorry Valerie
Quote from: charlie on February 01, 2012, 12:49:45 PM
Shhh i only have 1 ;D
Sorry Valerie
Are you sure Errol? I'm sure you can check stock in the back now no? :p Desole Valarie :)
No, don't worry about hijacking the thread! Glad you got a fixture :) If you want any tips on what plants I have found do well where, and which don't under this light, just ask!
I might just take you up on that offer when I pick the fixture up.
I found this great thread here (http://bit.ly/xR2eWQ) about modifying the fixture to have the blue and white LEDs on seperate power supplies so each can have its own timer... interesting...