L.e.d.'s

[CopcarFC]

LED's have come a long way in the past few years and they look like something that would be perfect for growing plants because...

1) They put out VERY little heat
2) They can put out ALOT of light
3) They are cheap and last forever
4) They are very small

What I don't know about them is if they have been proven as grow lights. Has anyone here used them for plants? I have an LED desk light that easily puts out more light than my twin 30w CF terrarium setup and it only has 3 LED's.

-Rail

 

[endparenthesis]

They're great as grow lights if you have a couple hundred (or thousand) of them. So they're perfect if cost isn't a factor.

http://ledgrowlights.com/index_txt.htm
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/growlight.html

 

[CopcarFC]

Hmm, what I don't get is why my $20 dollar, 3 LED desk lamp puts out more light than my terrarium but if you wanna grow plants they make it seem like you have to buy an array of blue and red LED's for $300 bucks. I don't get it.

-Rail

 

[endparenthesis]

What's lighting your terrarium?

 

[CopcarFC]

2 30w CF and 2 20w tubes. It's a 10gal setup.

-Rail

 

[chloroplast]

Your 3 desklamp LEDs are putting out more lumens than 100W of fluorescent lighting?!  Either your LEDs are more powerful than any I've seen or your fluorescent bulbs are dimming substantially.

 

[CopcarFC]

I don't know, it looks that way but the lights in my terrarium are new so I dont think they are fading. Mabie it just looks brighter because the desk lamp puts out very white light. I'm gonna buy a small CP and put it under the desk lamp and see how it likes it.

-Rail