Would tis light be appropriate for freshwater low light plants, or will it be too bright and grow a bunch of algae?
1950150
i believe it will be trial and error as to your programming. i have first set go on at 7 and off at 10. 2nd set comes on at 3 and off at 9:30 and nite lites come on at 9:30-12
1044034
Its honestly hard to tell whether or not you'll get an algae bloom. I did get some algae for the first few weeks but by reducing my light per day, its under control now. If your not over feeding and using any fertilizers I'm sure it would be fine. Can you explain what you mean by "an extended mount"?
2152964
I seriously doubt it, if that's the only light the plants receive. One of these things gives enough light to make a betta tank (about 1.5 gal, and broader than it is deep) fairly bright to show off colors, but I can't see one being enough light for 15 gal of planted tank. However, I have no idea what wattage of light it's equivalent to (in order to estimate 1-2 watts per gallon); this is only my personal impression from looking at my own small setup.
1061263
I had a couple of live plants in one of these, they lasted for a couple of months each. Plants do better with flourescent lighting but then so does algae and stuff. I really liked this tank and it's LED lighting. Mine got knocked over and I had to buy something else locally. But would prefer to buy another of these.
612790
I suppose it would be fine. Mine had natural light and it still died. But then I am a plant murderer... So no big shocker there.
775225
I leave mine on my desk at work. While it's probably not optimal, the lights are on 24 hours a day there. I have not noticed any detrimental effects from this, but the booklet that if you see excessive algae growth then you should lessen the amount of light it is getting.
1541342
Great light, but for a fewsh water plant setup you will have more sucess with more white LEDs. Unless you are going for a certain effect with a bluish hue, this might not be the perfect light for you. Great brand, you should check out their other products.
452752
Yes, as long as you get the right length for your aquarium. It's not going to put out so much light that you need to supplement with CO2. I have low light plants growing great in my 40 gallon, 36" long tank.
1785514
The light that comes with it is too weak for any but low-light plants. My tank is by a window, though, and I do use a weekly carbon supplement, Seachem's Flourish Excel. I have anubias, cardamine lyrata, and an unknown vine in there now, and they grow so quickly I am constantly pruning!
1343429
Low light plants like Anubias, java fern, and Crypts. I dont know if I would try it with others that need more. Definately not flourishing but very slow steady growth. I didnt buy it with the expectations that it would grow stuff, but tried it out just to see. I think I would go with something more powerful if growing plants was your goal.
722232
No. The spectrum and intensity are very much not sufficient for growing even low light plants.
1858012
Yes, but not for the reasons you think. The eco-complete will not technically grow your algae, but the low lighting will. Algae loves 2 things: Poor water quality (i.e. high phosphates/nitrates) and poor lighting. So you will probably have a bad algae problem later on due to your low lighting, so I would suggest investing in a nerite snail or rabbit snail, since they love algae and will leave plants alone. The eco-complete however does hold some nutrients, but not as much as it advertises - it would be like pouring a small amount of Seachem's "Trace Elements" into the tank.
519335
I can't give you a definitive answer for a freshwater tank but I am using it over a refugium attached to a saltwater aquarium. I am having excellent growth of cheatomorpha (a macro algae) my biggest worry is with your 18" depth getting enough light down to the bottom of your tank to grow any small plants you may have. I think it will still suffice as most freshwater plants are used to living in murky water and don't need as much light.
2235337
It kinda needs to set in bright but not direct light about as long as a day is. I have one of these before it lasted for many many years. Keep at room temperature and have daylight so the algae does not die.
452751
As long as the light spans the top of the aquarium, there should be no problem. This light is very bright and provides excellent illumination, both for viewers and for the fish and plants. The greatest thing about this is the gradual setting sun and moonlight modes. The only drawback for this unit is that, if your electricity goes off or the lamp is unplugged, you will have to reprogram it the time, sunset, and moon settings.
779471
No. This light is only good for low light plants. Get a finnex planted plus for your swords.
224426
I do not think it would be. I have freshwater tanks - it works fine for those. Most saltwater tanks I see have even brighter lights than this.