# 75 gallon tank......"Which LED?"



## flagtail (Jun 2, 2011)

Standard 75 Gallon 48x18x21High

Could someone point out a LED fixture for planted tank with

"Medium Light"

and 

"High Light" 

requirements.




Forgot to mention......obviously $$$ is the issue


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## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

I am no fan of LED lights on a large planted tank but the only two companies I'd mentioned would be Kessil and BuildMyLED; every other brand I've seen on large tanks ALWAYS lacks the genuine colours of the plants. There is a reason people like Tom Barr, Amano, Oliver Knott, etc all use T5HO's or Metal Halides and not LED's - the technology is just not there. 

On smaller tanks I think LED's are pointless/waste of money when you can just put in a 13, 15, or 23 watt bulbs and achieve better results but that's a whole other topic in itself. 

I think what you should do is tell us a bit more as to what plant species you want to try and keep and whether it'll be a holding tanks for plants or an aquascape/display tank, it'll be easier to suggest something that way.

Also don't forget you'll need to run CO2 in a high light tank unless you want to deal with constant algae issues.


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## flagtail (Jun 2, 2011)

I think you sum'd it all nicely there! 

What I was really looking for I guess was someone on the forum with LED's on their system and say...grab these or grab nothing....my head is hurting from all this looking around online...LOL

So I gather it's "Grab None!"

I just wanted to setup a 75 gallon with medium light to low light plants....

Simple...just grab a 48" HO T5's eh? 

and call it a day


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## default (May 28, 2011)

For a 75g I would go with T5s, is this a standard 48" 75g?

If you want to go with LEDs for the purpose of not needing to change bulbs, the versatility of changing colours, or saving on long term cost.

If so, go with two Ecotech Radions XR15FW, I have one over my 33 cube. Each unit is able to cover 30x30", so if it's a standard 75g, you'll definitely need two. These lights will give you plenty of light and plants seem to respond very well, check my signature as i've been experimenting with these lights. I think these are one of the best plant capable LEDs in the market right now - aside from DIY - because they are so versatile, being able to create any spectrum and intensity. Also, they provide awesome shimmer effects that halides would give you, but without the heat!

So, if you want to go LEDs, I would recommend spending the extra $ initially to get a good unit(s), I've seen Finnex and BML doing great, but they lack the customization that some people like, other brands like Current Sat+ would give you less light, but works well with plants too. Keep in mind with any of these units, two would most likely be required for your tank. Also, the Evergrow planted LEDs seem like a good option as well.

Brands to avoid - Marineland.. gets as hot as your stove and not even full spectrum, even Ebay LEDs are a better choice than these.


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## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

flagtail said:


> I think you sum'd it all nicely there!
> 
> What I was really looking for I guess was someone on the forum with LED's on their system and say...grab these or grab nothing....my head is hurting from all this looking around online...LOL
> 
> ...


Don't get me wrong LED's will grow plants; it's the colour's which I have an issue with for LED's. I'd rather tell you grab none then say "get this _______" etc. I don't know what your budget is but look for fixtures which most importantly have a reflector for EACH bulb, two bulbs under 1 reflector = a ton of lost PAR and it's worse with 4 bulb fixtures that only have 1 reflector, make sure each one has it's own; ATI and Aquaticlife make great T5HO fixtures.

In your first post you say you want med-high light plants, and now it's med-low light plants  Which one is it so we can recommend the right fixture?


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

dual t5ho on a standard 75 is fairly high light. I have used dual t5ho on a standard 90 and it was medium or so light, great for low and mid light plants.

I am pretty sure with 2 t5ho on a 75, you will want to be running co2 or a fairly short light on time.


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## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

pyrrolin said:


> dual t5ho on a standard 75 is fairly high light. I have used dual t5ho on a standard 90 and it was medium or so light, great for low and mid light plants.
> 
> I am pretty sure with 2 t5ho on a 75, you will want to be running co2 or a fairly short light on time.


"dual t5ho on a standard 75 is fairly high light" is an inaccurate statement; this highly depends on the brand, types of reflectors, and bulbs. I believe a 75 gallon is 21 inches high which is fairly tall and would be a struggle for a dual bulb T5HO to produce high light. When I measured a Coralife T5HO with new bulbs over a 22 inch tall tank with a 3 inch substrate the PAR was less than 30 which is low light.

Take an Aquaticlife or ATI fixture and test the PAR under there and now we're talking high light; just because a light is labelled as T5HO does not make it high light in any way.


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## streeker02 (Apr 11, 2014)

I am using a finnex planted plus on my planted 75, grows low/med light plants very well.


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## Sameer (Sep 30, 2007)

From my personal experience, dont ever get strip leds. I have a bml custom spectrum I made but the biggest problem is that its just 1 strip of leds. This is why I think t5ho is a better choice because you have bulbs spread out throughout the width of your tank.


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