Clip on LED spots ??

Anyone have any experience with the clip on LED spots for a 60cm deep, low tech, planter tank or similar ?

any guidance would be appreciated

 

As they say, a GIF is a Kiloword.



It really depends on many things, what plants you intend growing, are you going to inject CO2, what substrate you have and your fert regime - and of course the wattage of the clipons. You likely will also have no idea whether that is wall wattage or PAR wattage. You need to do the sums and decide whether multiple clip-ons (and you will need many if they're in the 15W range) are cost effective. Also how much of that irradiance is in the 400-700nm range that plants need. Your eyes cannot judge even if it's a 6500K "daylight" temperature and "looks" white.

If I were you, I'd make a hanging pendant light using two or three 75W+ LED floodlights. It'll work and they're already IP65 rated.

There are two hills I will die on:

1) It's practically impossible to compete with sunlight without bankrupting yourself. Sunlight at the equator delivers nearly 1000W of photonic energy per square meter, of which only around 45% is PAR. So you're looking at 450W per square meter of surface area.
2) Algae problems are not caused by excessive light. See point 1.

 

Your gif is grand and I love a kiloword.

I agree with what you are saying and am familiar with the science. This was purely a more practical question intended to steer the conversation towards; what light? From where? Etc. but your response is greatly appreciated nonetheless.

I’ve ended up purchasing some LED spots, 6500k and 2200 lumens each, should do the job.. I don’t need insane light, it’s going to be a low tech setup with loads of tannins in the water anyway. I’ll be fabricating the entire gantry so if I need to add more, I’ll be able to do so.

Project “put this shit together and make it pretty “ commences this weekend