Among most circles, owning a planted fresh or saltwater aquarium is considered twice as hard as simply dealing with only fish. While people will argue as to the difficulty and delicateness of maintaining an ecosystem of plant life and marine life, most agree that the extra oxygen and CO2 consumption is great for your fish health. In this guide, we cover the best led lights for planted aquariums currently available on the internet. Before we take a look at the dozen or so product we have gathered, we want you to know which features to look for and why they are important
Contents
Things to Consider Before You Choose Products
There is a lot to consider when shopping for the perfect planted LED light for your tank. As with most things in life, there are no straightforward answers; however, we can narrow down your search and provide the most relevant information to guide your buying decision.
The size of your tank should heavily influence the size of the LED light you consider adequate for your tank. The larger the tank, the longer the LED lamp. Of course, the brightness and temperature of the light matter a bit too. If you are confused about the sizes appropriate for you, measure the length of your tank and check the checkout page of the product of your choice, you should find the supported tanks sizes.
As a rule of thumb, you want the full spectrum of light from the lamps you are considering (white, blue, and red). However, if it is unavoidable, ensure that you have at least blue and white LED lights.
The optimal wavelength for Chlorophyll A, B, and Betta Carotene is between 400nm-700mm. Depending on the plant you are cultivating, the heat requirement might vary slightly, but typically, you want the light produced by your LED to fall between 5500K-7000K.
Certain features are considered standard among aquarium lights. The lamp you settle for should have a mounting system, a comprehensive control system that alternates between modes, water resistance, and finally, power consumption.
Top 15 Best LED lights for Planted Aquariums
In this section, we review 15 of the most promising LED lamps on the market. You should note that we cover more of the features and modes each product comes with and not their heat and light rating. Every LED lamp that falls onto this list has an identical lumen and PAR rating (6500K and 400nm-700nm)
Beamworks DA 6500K 0.50W Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant Discus
Beamworks aquarium freshwater plant discus is a standard LED light panel designed to replace and improve upon typical fluorescent lights usually mounted onto planted aquariums to spur growth. It comes in different sizes that match typical aquarium standard sizes, and it supplies the plants with power efficient lighting superior to that of fluorescent. The light is fitted with 6500k spectrum LEDs, and they feature a sleek, sharp design that lends the bulbs a sophisticated look. It doesn’t require bulb replacement, and it features a high-tech fixture system that controls the LED timer.
MingDak LED Aquarium Plant Light
The MingDak LED aquarium light is a multi-colored aesthetic aquarium light that comes in a diverse and interesting color palette. The MingDak’s beautiful light covers the natural light spectrum recommended for freshwater aquariums. On the panel proper, you will find white, blue, and red diodes, which all fall under the optimal wavelength for different parts of plant growth. Like most LED light, it is much brighter and much more energy-efficient than most LED light options available on the market. The MingDak LEDs contain 42 LEDs, 700 lumens, 2700lux, and consumes about 8W.
The MingDak also comes with a versatile control panel that allows you to adjust the brightness and set timers that complements the daily solar cycle.
NICREW SkyLED plus Aquarium Light for Planted Tanks
The NICREW SkyLED mimics the full light spectrum by combining a powerful 6500k white LEDs with a 450nm blue and 660nm red LEDs. It comes with adjustable daylight and moonlight lighting channels. It also comes with a lighting timer that switches on and off LED lights.
The NICREW features adjustable ducking legs that allows users to quickly mount and adjust to suit the various sizes of tanks. The LED lights ship in the box with an adjustable 18-24 inches brackets.
Ming Dak Overtank LED Aquarium Light
The Ming Dak Over tank LED lights are not your typical plant Led lights. The lamp comes with a clip-on bracket that allows you to mount it on any fish tank of your choosing efficiently. It comes with two distinct lighting modes. They are white and blue lighting for daytime and blue lighting for night time.
Since it uses pure Led lighting, it is far more energy-efficient than fluorescent lights. Up to 40% more energy efficient to be more precise. It has a very sleek and modern design that improves the general aesthetic of your fish tank.
NICREW ClassicLED plus Planted Aquarium Light
The NICREW classic is an inexpensive aquarium light with impressive energy-saving properties and sturdy and beautiful design. It has a sturdy aluminum shell and has an operational span that dwarfs most fish tank lights available on the market.
The NICREW combines white, blue, red, and green LED lights to deliver the full spectrum of natural light, which is great for plant growth. It also features adjustable mounts that allow you to attach it to different types of aquariums seamlessly. This aquarium light delivers the best results when it’s mounted on acrylic or canopy covered aquarium.
Hygger Auto ON-OFF LED Aquarium Light Extendable
The Hygger Auto aquarium light is a feature-heavy, reprogrammable Led light for freshwater aquariums. The Hygger auto features a sophisticated light cycle that rotates through sunrise, midday, sunset, and night light settings.
There is also a built-in timer that controls the intensity of the lights and initiates the various light cycles. The system is incredibly thorough and is sophisticated enough to mimic various natural light shifts of the day. It comes with IP68 water resistance. So, your light is safe from the occasional water splash. The Hygger lamp features white, blue, red, and green LED lights. Together, they provide the full spectrum of natural light for your plants to feed on.
SunGrow White and Blue Colored Light
The Sun grow is a double light Led for planted aquariums. It’s one of the cheapest Led lights you will find for smaller aquarium tanks on the market. It pumps out crisp 6500K lights that mimic natural light, and it bathes your plants with all the nutrition they need.
It comes with a built-in timer function that lets you alternate between day and night time. The Sungrow also comes with an adjustable metal arm and clamp that lets you mount it on your aquarium. The lamp has 18 white bulbs and 6 blue ones.
NICREW classicLED Gen2 Planted Aquarium Light
The NICREW Gen2 takes the best part of the Classic and improves greatly upon it. It is considerably cheaper than the first-generation model and considerably brighter too. According to the manufacturer, the Gen2 provides up to 50% more brightness than the classic proper.
It also comes with the stunning aluminum chassis that made the first generation do durable and trustworthy. In addition to coming with a fantastic frame, it also features a long overdue LED light controller that controls two lighting modes (day and night modes). Each mode controls one of the two colors available (white and blue). It is ideal for fresh and saltwater aquariums and performs best when used over a glass or acrylic canopy-covered aquarium.
MingDakk LED submergible Aquarium Light
The MingDak submergible is a single light LED lamp that comes in various sizes, designed or all sorts of freshwater aquariums. It is great for viewing, and it has an average discharge of about 12V/0.5A. It comes with an in-frame mounting system that allows you to use it most freshwater aquariums.
While the LED lights don’t come with IP68 water resistance proper, it is rated for hours upon hours of submerged use. It is also about 20% brighter than most fluorescent light, and it has a substantially longer shelf life. A simple switch mechanism controls the power delivery and interruption. It is one of the cheaper LED lights you will find on the market.
Aqueon Aquarium Clip-on LED lights
The Aqueon Led light lamp is an attachable multi-colored plant light that provides nourishment for planted aquariums round the clock. It features about 60 individual LED lights, and it comes with a basic three-touch Led control switch for alternating between different lighting modes. They are great for aquariums that range from somewhere between 5-20 gallons.
It mounts perfectly on both framed and frameless aquariums. It also works great for aquariums with mounting screws. The aquarium light comes with an elaborate yet functional screw mounting system that keeps it firm without damaging the glass.
Beamworks DA LED Aquarium Fish Tank Light
The Beamworks DA LED is an impressive dual-lighting fish aquarium light for plants. It comes with white and blue lighting, and it comes with two distinct modes that alternate between both lights. Since there are only two colors available in the lamp, it does not feature full the full natural light spectrum.
Beamworks ships various lamp models categorized by their functionality and sizes. This device also features a timer that alternates lights during day and night.
Finnex Planted 24/7 LED light
The Finnex is one of the only few LED light lamps for plants with a remote controller. What this means is that you can set up timers, alternate between lighting modes, reduce and increase the brightness, and remote switch the device on and off.
There are non-remote control options, so you can choose to have the above-listed feature and handle them remotely. It also comes in various sizes so that you can fit it onto several aquarium sizes. The single white LED light in this lamp pumps about 6500k of natural light. The lamp also features a water sensor and is water resistant.
HOODIA aquarium Hood Lighting Color
The COODIA aquarium plant lamp is like most products on the market in many interesting ways. However, it differs from the sea of everyday plant light thanks to the 2.55G chip soldered onto the lamps. With this chip, it has internet connectivity and can effectively update the lamp over time.
The HOODIA comes with a two-color stream that can provide enough light and nutrition for plant growth. It is rated with over 10,000 hours of functional light. It also designed with two sideway clamps to easily mount the lamp. The lamp comes in different sizes and is perfect tanks of all sizes.
GZKANFUL LED aquarium Light
The GZKANFUL is a compact IP68 water-resistant plant lamp for smaller to medium-sized aquarium. While this little light might not be powerful enough to handle larger tanks, it comes with suction cups and 9 white LD lights that are considerably brighter and sharper than most bulbs available on the market. By virtue of its size, it can also be repurposed and used for other interesting things such as light up rockeries, pet cages, and cisterns.
It is rated or over 10000 hours of light, and it is inexpensive. It comes with a very simple switch system, which is not water-resistant.
Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED plus light for Aquarium
Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED lamp is the perfect lamp for an aquarium owner who values realism above everything else. With the help of their sophisticated programming and just two lights, the satellite freshwater LEDs can mimic most natural lighting incidents. They come as functional modes which include, but are not limited to day and night. The transition between these modes can be tweaked and will from cloud coverage and even lightning strikes. The Lamp comes with a reasonable 30-day money-back guarantee provided your concerns about the device fall within reason.
Conclusion
There is a lot that can be said about aquarium lights and what it means to find the best LED lights for Planted Aquariums. Like most topics, there are multiple opinions on the matter, and in many cases, only through personal testing and research will you find what is perfect for you and your plants. However, general things can be said about planted aquariums. It is important to choose the perfect size of lamp. Too little and their leaves might yellow up, too much, and their stem might grow soft and wallow. It is also important to note the difference between RGB decorative lights and plant lighting. While it is true that RGB decorative light, no matter how impractical, can deliver some nutrition, dedicated lamps will serve you best.
