LEDs for plants

[vinc]

Would autozone LED strips work for a planted fluval edge? I'm thinking about turning my edge into either a planted shrimp tank or a pico reef. Still debating on which way to go but I'm trying to figure out lighting first. If I do use the autozone LED strips, I could connect them to a 12volt cigarette thing then plug it into an adapter for the wall outlet. It's just an idea, not sure if they'll be bright enough for either plant growth or corals

[eklikewhoa]

Those offer asthetics at best. Raise shrimp and keep silk/plastic plants alive under the light, yes.

[myjohnson]

Not even close to a Cree 3w LED.

[davemonkey]

Agree with the above. Not all LED's are the same. The strips you are talking about don't put out enough light, nor the right type of light, for a plant to use in photosynthesis. You MIGHT be able to keep Java Fern or Anubias alive in a set up like that, but the light they would use to survive would be whatever light is available in the room you are keeping them (ambient room light, light from a window, etc... ).

-Dave

[vinc]

i guess i'll stick with the ebay mr11/mr16 plus hopefully some other brighter light modifications. decided to just turn the edge into a shrimp tank with maybe a couple small fish and aquascape =D it's going to take a while though. also planning to convert my 40gal breeder into a reef tank