Skip to main content

LED lightbulbs for aquarium lighting

A few weeks ago we decided to use LED lighting on the new tank racks we had instead of using tubular fluorescent lighting. We used Unitech LED lightbulbs as they were pretty cheap and the cover was made out of plastic and is easily removed. Just a quick twist and it pops off easily. No need to damage the lightbulb and if you want to, you can just plop the cover back in.


With cover




Without cover

Installed it to the middle rack in parallel connection with all the lights connected to one switch. Flipped on the switch and all the LED lightbulb burst to life. Been observing the lightbulbs for some time and so far the performance is good.

Used to have 12-24watts of lighting per 15gallon tank but now with these energy efficient LED, its down to 3-5watts per tank. By removing the cover of the bulb it greatly reduces the glare and gives a kind of spotlight effect making it unnecessary to install hoods or reflectors.

The manufacturer claims that the light produced by one watt is equivalent to 8watts of standard CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs and by rough comparison it seems to hold true.



With a 30,000 hour lifespan (if true as claimed), these LED light bulbs are worth every cent so if you're setting up a new tank or need to change a busted tank light you should give it a try. The only problem is if you don't have enough room for a receptacle above your tank. This is true for most fish racks but otherwise, they are a great alternative.



UPDATE (July 01, 2015)




The 3 watts LED bulbs wasn't quite enough for aquatic plants with high light requirements so we decided to up the game a little with a higher wattage LED bulb. We switched one of the 3 watts LED bulb (which was still in good working condition) to a higher wattage LED bulb. 







This is an LED from another brand, Isonic, since the previously used LED bulbs (Unitech) were out of stock. We used the 9watts cool light variety and unlike the Unitech LED bulb's cover which was fairly easy to remove, this one required a little bit of hacking. After prying the cover of the bulb open with a small knife, the LED module needed to be glued back on to the housing which required a brisk walk to the nearby motorcycle accessories store to purchase a small tube of fast bonding adhesive (I used Superglue).

The LED bulb cover makes a great hideout for cichlids. They love it very much.

The brightness is obviously higher than then 3 watts LED bulb (left side on cichlid tank) since it is 9 watts and it uniformly illuminates the 15 gallons tank (right side filled with freshly harvested aquatic plants) pretty well.

If you have any pet-related questions we will try our best to answer them. Kindly ask your questions in the comments section below or click here to send us a message on Facebook.

Happy pet-keeping!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DIY - How to Make a Glass Aquarium

Hello everyone! In this blog post we will walk you through the basic steps on how to make a glass aquarium (we will be making two 15gallon tanks with dimension 24" x 12" x 12") plus we will also be teaching you a quick, cheap, easy & hassle-free way to make a background for your tank, What you will need: Materials: Glass, Silicon tube, Masking tape, Styrofoam board, Charol plastic sheet, Shampoo (any brand), Newspapers Tools: Caulking gun, Cutter knife, Scissors, Plastic card Purchasing the glass First of all, you'll need to go to your local aluminum & glass supply shop and purchase the glass you will need for your project. Use the chart below to determine the standard dimensions of the tank you want to make (forgot the source of the chart so if you guys know kindly post it on the comments section).     Making the Tank Now that we have our glass, time to get out the caulking gun and silicon tube so we can start assembling our glass...
Post a Comment
Read more

DIY Anubias Trickle Farm Update

Hello there pet mates! Welcome back to our blog. Here's a quick update on the DIY Anubias Trickle Farm we made last week. The water level in the reservoir (a non functioning refrigerator which we reused) was dropping pretty rapidly so instead of being convenient, it was a trouble for us to be adding water to the reservoir every morning. The water loss was high because most of the splash from the trickle was not caught by the side of the catch basin but outside of it instead. To resolve the issue, we lowered the trickle pipes and the base platform where the plants was placed. This ensured that the water was mostly recovered and returned to the system. Another problem was with clogging. The holes on the trickle piping often get clogged with algae or other debris so the best way to fix it was by using a screwdriver. Yes, a drill would be a better choice but a screwdriver was more badass! Plus, we got to save up on electricity. Here's the redesigned setup. So far n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Daphnia Magna Culture

     I received the daphnia magna culture I ordered last Saturday from a great and reliable source and had a 10 gallon tank setup to try my luck in culturing these interesting critters. The culture tank has an air hose with low aeration and I even placed an aquarium thermometer to keep an eye on the water temperature of the tank. Aged pond water from my outdoor koi pond is being used as the daphnia magna culture water. I’m feeding them yeast dissolved in aged water and so far they are doing fine. It is their 4th day today and I can already observe that their numbers are multiplying, an opposite of what I got when I was trying to culture Daphnia Moina, a much smaller version of Daphnia Magna.      A problem that I currently have with my setup is that the temperature of the tank water is high compared to the recommended 65 – 70 °F. Hoping that I could somehow find a way around this. Suggestions will be highly appreciated. You can ...
Post a Comment
Read more