Habitat - Indoor :: LED Lighting Questions

[MEandYouPhoto]

For the last couple of months I have had my lights on from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM as this is generally the hours I am awake and I like to have my tank lit. Franklin will bask most of the time while I am gone but sometimes in the evening after I get home he will bask if he thinks I am not watching him. I finally have had the tank do a full cycle, Nitrate levels were on the rise so I did a water change and got rid of the brown algae that was growing in the tank in the area's where the basking lights were on all of the time and since I want to reduce the algae growth in the tank I reduced the lighting timer from the 16 hours that it was on down to 10, (7:30 AM to 5:30 PM) I am hoping this will reduce or eliminate the algae growth and yet still provide enough "day time" light for him to bask.

I am considering adding some LED lights to the inside of the tank that can help illuminate the tank while the "day time" lights are off. So will adding these full time lights disrupt his sleeping patters? (although he routinely sleeps while the basking lights are on anyway) Is there a better light color to get for our shelled friends?
Does anyone else here have LED lights INSIDE their tank versus an above tank lighting system?

I would like to get a good open discussion going about this. I haven't seen a lot of info about it on the forum so I figured this would be a good way to both get info and educate.

[VeipaCray]

LED lighting can promote algae growth if you're planning on having the tank lit during the night cycle. However moon lighting is fairly common on more advanced fish tanks and shouldn't be a problem as long as you have some hiding spots for a sleepy

[MEandYouPhoto]

What is going to be the difference between "moon light" LED's and just Blue LED's?

[VeipaCray]

What is going to be the difference between "moon light" LED's and just Blue LED's?

Moon light LEDs are very low PAR.

[MEandYouPhoto]

What is going to be the difference between "moon light" LED's and just Blue LED's?

Moon light LEDs are very low PAR.

Low PAR? Meaning i can complete the hole in only 2 strokes? lol

Sorry please dumb it down for me Veipa

[PridgNYC]

Don't feel bad, I had to look it up too.

Photosynthetically Active Radiation, or PAR as it's commonly called, is a term that's widely used in the hobby, and is often not well understood, especially when applied to LED lighting. When used correctly, PAR information can be very helpful in determining the best way to light a reef aquarium, and where best to place corals, clams, and other photosynthetic invertebrates. When misunderstood, it can lead to unnecessary and costly lighting purchases and have detrimental affects on your reeef aquarium!

[VeipaCray]

Yes low PAR means straighter tee shots and no more three-putts.

Think of PAR as intensity.

Moon lights are very low power, low intensity lighting... a la effect lighting. They will illuminate the tank, provide a bit of shimmer, simulate moon light and that's about it. Regular blue LEDs will range in power consumption, have higher PAR (intensity) generally speaking, and can help you grow algae at night Moon lights are much less expensive than a strip of regular blue LEDs.

For example here's a $10 moon light LED pod: http://www.marinedepot.com/Current_USA_ ... ML-vi.html

[MEandYouPhoto]

I found a couple of "Moonlight" LED's on the Petco website

http://www.petco.com/product/115572/Ham ... SiteSearch

and

http://www.petco.com/product/118304/Mar ... SiteSearch

How can I tell what the PAR is on them. I want something that is going to illuminate the whole tank but not be overpowering. The one you linked requires a separate power supply beyond the $10 min strip of LED's

Anyone here have LED"s in their turtle tank?

[VeipaCray]

You'd need to contact the manufacturer for their published PAR ratings.

Generally speaking, moon lighting can be accomplished by a very small amount of LEDs. Those small pods of 3-5 LEDs work well. Strips of LEDs are somewhat obnoxious looking for "nighttime" moonlight.

[MEandYouPhoto]

VeipaCray thanks a ton for the info. I spent 5 hours last night on the internet researching PAR and LED Lighting options for my tank lol, I found myself last night staring intently at my tank and imagining where i was going to put those lights as I don't have a hood on my tank.

Usually I spend my evening playing EverQuest and last night I was enthralled with LED Lighting options. I learned about LED and Black Light (Bad option by the way apparently) and Algae growth and PAR and and and .... lol

I originally started this Lighting journey in an attempt to have some kind of light in my tank after the "Daytime" lights go out. I had been running the lights for 16 hours and I have scaled it back down to 10 hours. The Algae growth was annoying so I decided to scale it back to what the recommended time is I have seen on here.

How long does everyone else have their Basking area "Daytime" Lights on for?