Chinese Plant Grow Lights

[MKEnovice]

I came across multiple good deals on Amazon for plant grow lights. Examples include Vivosun and others. Wondering if anyone has used these lights on an aquarium. I ChatGPTed this and it shows that they are too strong for planted tanks but the above lights are dimmable.
As an aside, do we know what the tariff situation is regarding importing Weekaqua lights from AliExpress?

 

[Dennis Wong]

PAR is PAR, enough visible light will grow plants, as long as the spectrum is not too abnormal.
These lights will grow plants, as does even cheaper industrial lighting.
The main issue with these lights and cheaper commercial/household lights is that they often do not have attractive visual spectrum for displaying the tank/plants.





More on picking aquarium LEDs here:

Choosing planted aquarium LED lighting

How to choose aquarium light for your planted tank? Focus on 3 key factors - Strength, spectrum and Spread. Aquarium light can affect everything from plants coloration, growth rates and even algae control. Read on to learn more about strength, spectrum and spread for aquarium lights.

www.2hraquarist.com

 

[MKEnovice]

Did not expect the great Dennis Wong to reply to my question. Thank you for everything that you do for the hobby!

 

[JayP]

As an aside, do we know what the tariff situation is regarding importing Weekaqua lights from AliExpress

The most recent Week Aqua purchase I made on AliExpress had no additional charges but my last order was December. I've also not yet had added costs with Chihiros.

 

[BranchScape]

The most recent Week Aqua purchase I made on AliExpress had no additional charges but my last order was December. I've also not yet had added costs with Chihiros.

Same here on extra fees, I just ordered 3 sets of Week Aqua 20mm stainless steel pipes, as no one has them in the US. There were no extra charges. On lights Aqua Rocks Colorado ships fast, usually you get the light in under 4 days and Ali express is not much cheaper when I looked last week and takes much longer.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

I’m gonna order my week Aqua light from ARC too, and it doesn’t seem tariffs have affected their prices.

 

[JayP]

Same here on extra fees, I just ordered 3 sets of Week Aqua 20mm stainless steel pipes, as no one has them in the US. There were no extra charges. On lights Aqua Rocks Colorado ships fast, usually you get the light in under 4 days and Ali express is not much cheaper when I looked last week and takes much longer.

I think the biggest reasons I went with AliExpress was that I could get shades included for still less than the price of ARC, but also, ARC was out of stock of the specific models I wanted which seemed to be a common issue.

I do like ARC though and have ordered a lot of hardscape from there.

 

[Koan]

I could get shades included for still less than the price of ARC

I asked ARC about those shades, and they will order them for you if you ask

 

[snowballs99]

I'm actually using them near exclusively.
I've bought the expensive $100 square fixtures that have 100 actual watts.
The smaller 10watt bar ones barrina is the most popular one on amazon for that.

The expensive fixtures typically have dimming features built in.
You can also just stack the 10 watt light bars as well to tune it that way if you prefer.


They work just as well, but more expensive aquarium lighting usually has better spectrum, not for plant growth, just for your visual appeal and that's where most of the "research" budget actually goes into for them.

They all grow plants just fine, raw wattage and power is more important than a specific spectrum. Just don't use the blurple lights that only use red and blue. those are a waste.

 

[MKEnovice]

I'm actually using them near exclusively.
I've bought the expensive $100 square fixtures that have 100 actual watts.
The smaller 10watt bar ones barrina is the most popular one on amazon for that.

The expensive fixtures typically have dimming features built in.
You can also just stack the 10 watt light bars as well to tune it that way if you prefer.


They work just as well, but more expensive aquarium lighting usually has better spectrum, not for plant growth, just for your visual appeal and that's where most of the "research" budget actually goes into for them.

They all grow plants just fine, raw wattage and power is more important than a specific spectrum. Just don't use the blurple lights that only use red and blue. those are a waste.

Great, finally some real world experience. Can you link the lights that you are using? Thinking of buying one for a basement farm tank. Currently using a Chihiros WRGB2 Pro but want to use it for another tank eventually.

 

[snowballs99]

Great, finally some real world experience. Can you link the lights that you are using? Thinking of buying one for a basement farm tank. Currently using a Chihiros WRGB2 Pro but want to use it for another tank eventually.

Dependent on tank size and if you want high light or low light, and what plants you are planning to grow.

Generally the light bars are good. The ones that look like poles and generally come in packs of 4.

You can check out the barrina brand since they are the cheapest unless you have a huge tank.

2Ft ones fit right on top of a 10 gallon with slight 1 inch bleed on both sides which can be covered with some tape.

Bucephalandras for example look great with the barrina slightly pinkish led lights since they highlight the violets very well.