Amazon grow LED for chaeto?

cwk84 · Jun 14, 2018

I want to grow chaeto in the back of my 20g BioCube. There's enough space for a grow LED but I'm wondering if it will be enough light. This is the one I'm interested in:
https://www.amazon.com/Gooseneck-Gr..._rd_wg=pCXCQ&refRID=E3NFSBHSS6EQ28YA304S&th=1

Crabs McJones · Jun 14, 2018

cwk84 said:
I want to grow chaeto in the back of my 20g BioCube. There's enough space for a grow LED but I'm wondering if it will be enough light. This is the one I'm interested in:
https://www.amazon.com/Gooseneck-Gr..._rd_wg=pCXCQ&refRID=E3NFSBHSS6EQ28YA304S&th=1

That should be sufficient, gives off the proper red and blue spectrum. And 20 watts for the amount of space you have to work with should work

OriginalUserName · Jun 14, 2018

cwk84 said:
I want to grow chaeto in the back of my 20g BioCube. There's enough space for a grow LED but I'm wondering if it will be enough light. This is the one I'm interested in:
https://www.amazon.com/Gooseneck-Gr..._rd_wg=pCXCQ&refRID=E3NFSBHSS6EQ28YA304S&th=1

I have this on the back of my 29 biocube and it works great.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LX1EO3W/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Tons of chaeto growth and it's been reliable. I played with using a gooseneck in addition to that one mounted on the back glass but it was hard to keep light from seeping into the tank. I also wound up dipping the gooseneck into the water which caused some funky type of buildup on the lamp which seemed a reaction between whatever cheap Chinese metal it was made out of and the water. I did a huge WC after I found that but nothing seemed to be bothered by it.

cwk84 · Jun 18, 2018

I just got the light today. It's very weak. The driver says 340mA, 12V. That's 4,08W. Maybe it's just me but it doesn't look like it's going to be strong enough. I know that LED's don't need as much power to produce the same amount of PAR but 4 watt seems a little low.

cwk84 · Jun 18, 2018

Could it be that I'm missing something here? Maybe the brightness of the light is equivalent to a 20W light but it only pulls 4 watts?!

Velcro · Jun 18, 2018

It's probably just listing the max wattage of the LEDs but it underdrives them for heat reason. Same thing with my mars hydro light. It's called a 300 watt but only runs them at like 120.

OriginalUserName · Jun 18, 2018

cwk84 said:
Could it be that I'm missing something here? Maybe the brightness of the light is equivalent to a 20W light but it only pulls 4 watts?!

Does it just have 1 driver? 340ma seems very low.

cwk84 · Jun 18, 2018

OriginalUserName said:
Does it just have 1 driver? 340ma seems very low.

Yes, it only has one driver. It's as bright s a normal desktop lamp, though. Someone on Amazon said that spectrum is more important than power for plants. Maybe that applies to macroalgae as well?

OriginalUserName · Jun 18, 2018

Wait, somebody correct me if I'm wrong but drivers supply that amperage to each led. That isn't the max.

On the fixture I built I have 2 drivers, one at 2k milliamps and the other at 1500. Each led is being fed that amount.

Spectrum certainly matters more than pure lumens. Chlorophyl A and B only use parts of the spectrum, red and blue mostly.

lapin · Jun 18, 2018

For example I use a 9W led grow light std base over a 12"x 12" area. It claims it is the same as a 60 watt bulb. It grows tang heaven and other red macro like crazy. It wont grow chaeto for me at all. I never had any luck with chaeto. Yours is the same as a 20watt bulb. The dual version of yours does says 60watt on the site . It will be a test to see if it works. Let us know.