World's Best Aquarium Lights

WARNING: DO NOT CONFUSE WATTAGE NEEDED TO POWER A LIGHT WITH LIGHT OUTPUT

This is a Fluorex 65 Watts Model # 9166B. A new electronic technology enables a high output of light from a newly designed compact fluorescent bulb that only needs a minimal amount of electricity to power it.

Tests show that this 65 watt bulb will deliver the equivalent of light to those rated at 500 watts. So a tungsten, halogen, halide or other light rated at 500 watts will output approximately the same amount of light (measured in Lumens) as this 65 watt light will. Pretty impressive stuff.

The bulb is a 4 tube bulb with electronics in the "Mogul Screw Base" (looks like regular bulb base, but much larger) that matches with the electronics in the bulb socket. These bulbs can only be used with the following fixtures: LOA lights: 6065 - 6165 - 9166 - 9265 - 9266

The rated light output on this light in Lumens is approximately 70 per watt. So 70 X 65 watts = 4550 Lumens.

Foot-Candles, Lumens and Lux are just light measurement terms. An easy explanation of one Lux is that 1 LUX = 1 Lumen per Square Meter. You will note that a Lux deals with not only the light output, but the distance from the subject.

The larger the area being illuminated by the light the lower the LUX rating or light intensity. So a light that illuminates at 100 Lumens in a Square Meter would have a 100 Lux Output. Take that same light and illuminate 10 square meters and it would now have a LUX of 10.

So if you need a light for your plants or aquarium and intend on positioning the light to illuminate a square meter, then your fish or plants will be receiving 4550 Lux of light. I hope this helps demystifies this for you.

For more details on these terms and what they mean click here.

4. What is the Color Temperature of this light, I am told I need 10,000K lights for my marine aquarium?

The 'color' of light (the emission amplitude and spectral distribution) can significantly affect plant growth. Low color temperature implies warmer (more yellow/red) light while high color temperature implies a colder (more blue) light. Daylight has a rather low color temperature near dawn, and a higher one during the day.

Our lights offer a rich blue/white light that is rated at 6500 degrees Kelvin. The light as you can see from this chart would be higher then the sun light at noon on a sunny day and similar to the light at full daylight. Some expensive Sodium Bulbs used in plant growth can reach 2100 degrees kelvin, which would be a much warmer light, while others for marine aquariums will be 10,000-12,000 degrees Kelvin which is a Bluer light.

It is necessary for you to understand the specific requirements for the growing or your plants or marine life as they will vary. For coral growth, you should find out if your coral comes from shallow or deep waters. The closer to the surface of the water the more you need a 6500K light. For coral growing deep in the water, (which is darker and bluer), you can use a 10,000K filter gel that we now offer, to convert our standard 6500K bulb to 10,000-12,000K.

Our lighting system is the only system that will allow you to custom tune your lighting needs,
without having to spend a ton of $$$.

Some more links on color temperatures.

NOW YOU CAN GROW AQUATIC PLANTS AND MANY TYPES OF LIVE CORAL

Low Cost Color Filter Gels Change Our 6500K lights From 5000K Up To 12,000K or higher

We have specially designed and produced color filter gels. These remarkable gels will enable us to offer an easy solution to those customers who prefer a more amber light or a bluer light for some of their deep water coral. Our new gels (# 3204 - 1/2 Blue, #3203 3/4 Blue and 3202 Full Blue) will convert your 6500K light up to 10,000K light with approximately a 30%-45% loss of light transmission. This means with the gel on your light you will get approximately 3500 Lumens of light per light.

As you know the deeper the coral comes from the less light it receives and the bluer the water, so know what your coral requires and adjust the light to that requirement. No need to buy other lights or expensive actinic bulbs, you can not do it all yourself with our complete marine aquarium system.

So now everyone can custom color our lights for their individual taste or needs. Some customers have even asked for Warming Filters and we have these arriving shortly and will post that information with pictures as soon as they arrive.

See our options list at our auctions for more information and click on this link to read all about these wonderful filter gels.
Roscoe Laboratories is the world leader in the filter gel industry and have provided their products for,
theater, motion picture production and many other industrial and artistic projects.

Read More On Filters And How Easy They Install On These Lights

Take me to the Top

Wow...thanks to some of my customers for this one. For those of you that want to understand what PAR rating mean, please go to this forum for a good discussion on PAR and whether or not the numbers really mean anything in growing plants or marine live stock.

I have spoken to our OEM who manufacturers our base units for the PAR rating or our lights and they claim this is a non issue and more of a marketing gimmick then any actual concern on their lights. I am not quite sure myself and have read many articles with differing opinions. So on this one you are on your own guys.

for those of you that really believe what some grow and aquarium light manufacturers claim, I can tell you that all the research you will do still comes back to the same thing...will our lights grow your plants or coral and the answer over and over again from over 400 happy customers over the past 5 months is a resounding yes. Check my feedback and feel free to contact any customers that have purchased these lights. I am sure you will find they do the job better then lights costing hundreds of dollars more. Don't be fooled by fancy marketing copy, scientific mumbo jumbo. I have spent time reading many points of views on this and other lighting subjects only to come away with the simple conclusion that most of it is pure marketing copy by grow light manufacturers.

Does anyone out there still believe that all the drugs and natural ingredient junk they sell in health food stores really live up to their claims? Do you really believe you can make $800,000 in a few months by joining in on the chain letters you have been getting in the mail? Well if you answered yes to any one of these questions then I want to offer you a great deal on the Brooklyn Bridge :-)

The color of a light source entails a complicated relationship of different factors, that are important in determining the right light source for your garden or aquarium.

I actually did a search on the net and found some great information about lighting in a Marijuana Grow FAQ. I do not sell my lights for this purpose and if I know you are using it for that purpose, I will not sell them to you.

But read the information here, seems these guys know all about plant growth.

The light box measures 12.5" Long X 8" Wide X 5" Deep from the front of the lens cover to the back of the box.

Well growing plants in an aquarium is more then just having the proper amount of light. Many plants both land and water require certain conditions to thrive. In an aquarium it is necessary to do the proper research on the fish you intend to keep and match the plants to the fish. An example would be setting up a tropical fish tank with fish from the Amazon basin. These would include many Cichlids like Angel fish, Discus, Jack Dempsey, Convicts, Oscars and others. These fish (other then the ones that will rip the plants out or eat them) require slightly acidic water and therefore plants have to be matched to this water. Amazon Swords and other plants are perfect here.

If however you have a nice live bearer fish tank filled with Black Mollies, Guppies, Platy's and others they prefer a more neutral PH water (7.0-7.6) and any plants pt into these tanks should also meet these water specs to thrive. I have a tank with many varieties of mollies and have filled them with many bunch plants that are growing so fast that the fish and snails can't eat them fast enough. With 2 lights on my 55 gallon tank, I can not only see daily plant growth, but also fish growth on my fry (babies).

Optimal fresh water plant light sources are 6500K (which these lights are) and enough Lumens of light to simulate sunlight (which these lights have). So the simple answer to this question is YES, this light will do the job.

8. I have a marine aquarium and want to grow live coral, can I use these lights?

When it comes to how corals grow, each category of animal requires its own unique lighting requirements, but many share one common trait; photosynthesis in order to survive.

This light will grow live coral and your marine life will thrive. The light intensity and the color temperature are what you need to grow most species of coral. That said, you should read as many opinions as you can that relate to your set up. By simply doing a google search as I did you can find many pages of information on "growing live coral"

Here is an excellent link that I think will be of interest: Growing Live Coral Read here from an article at about.com

Our complete Marine Solutions will grow any type of coral hard or soft and will do it better then lights costing hundreds of dollars more. Don't let our low cost fool you, these lights are the best lights in the world and complete adjustable by the user for any specific requirements.

Please read Question 4 and Question 24 for a more extensive answers to this question.

Please click here to view a page I did comparing halides vs. my lights...I think after reading the information there, you won't purchase Halides or you will replace your current ones with my lights.

You won't need a chiller unit with these lights because they run cool and won't heat the water and kill your live stock as Halides might

Some customers have asked for filters to drop the color temperature of these lights for use in Tropical Biotope Aquariums. They need a light that will emit 5700K so we are now offering a new filter to do just that. Email me for more information and your specific needs. I can supply filters to adjust my lights to just about any color temperature you will need.

See some amazing Biotope Aquariums at: VECTRAPOINT

I have a standard cover on my aquarium and have the lights sitting directly on the glass with no ill effects to the fish or glass. It does not raise the aquarium temperature to dangerous levels as Halides might and are warm to the touch.

We are now proud to offer a set of 4, high quality, clear, self stick "Bumpers" or feet that will adhere to the front lens of our lights. These bumpers will help keep the lens scratch free and raise the lights off the top from 1/2" " to allow for air circulation, which will keep your glass top even cooler.

Using all of the visible colors in sunlight, the value of a a light source is measured by how well it renders all colors of the visible spectrum. The Color Rendering Index (CRI) is measured on a scale of 1-100 this lamp measures approximately 84 CRI. The light provides an exceptional blue-rich light made up of pure white light with a high CRI which results in create color and contrast and an overall sharper images.

Regular light bulbs provide an orange reddish tint on objects and ordinary fluorescent bulbs can cause a head aches and eyestrain. Blue-rich light sources will improve vision and brightness perception for interior conditions, while making the owner happier and able to handle mental tasks better.

This High Output light will blow away any traditional fluorescent tube light. Traditional Fluorescent will give you about 2.5 times the light that an ordinary light bulb would give you. So a 40 Watt Fluorescent will be equal to a 100 Watt bulb tungsten bulb. Our new Electronic Fluorex 65 Watt Bulb (power consumption of bulb) is so efficient it will give you about 8 Times the light output or 500 Watts of Light Output, now how does that relate to energy costs?

Please click here to view a page I did comparing halides vs. my lights...it has an eye opening breakdown on costs and savings. You will save enough in a few months using my lights to pay for them. As much as an 87% savings per year. Go from $200-$300 per light per year in cost, down to $25 per year, amazing.

Yes, you can easily spary your white lights BLACK, or purchase the Lights of American Bronze Lights. When you order our instructional DVD we will include our instructions on how to custom spray your lights with low cost spray paint available at Home Depot or other stores.

These bulbs are rated to last a full 10,000 hours. This means they will last three years if you use them 10 hours per day for every day of the year. The bulbs are readily available from me and many US and internet dealers. We offer them as a courtesy only and do not make mon ey on the bulbs. We suggest you go to a local Home Depot store or otehr internet dealers for your bulbs and if all else fails we can help you out.

Not actual size - The base of this bulb is called a "Mogul Base"
and is much larger then a common light bulb.

Fluorex 65 Watts Model # 9166B

Designed to be used with lights: 6065 - 6165 - 9166 - 9265 - 9266

Buy Them From Me @ $16.00 - No S&H if ordered same time as light

The Lights of America outdoor full spectrum flood lights, are what we suggest you use. What you will use is the base unit and bulb which makes this light a great grow or aquarium light because it is in a weather resistant case. It has an electronic ballast system (doesn't require the old ballasts that hum and get hot). It will work at its optimum for your use in grow light and aquarium situations. This light now has a fast start, no flicker and continuous operation.

When I began to manufacture these lights I searched all over the country to find the base unit that could offer me bright full spectrum light, cool operation and the workings that would take my modifications. Having an engineering and technical background I began to develop the current lighting system you now see. Lights that will allow full adjustment of color temperature, offer great value compared to other aquarium and grow lights and use very little electricity while supplying the equivalent light as most 500 Watt lights.

These lights were designed to give you high quality, low cost and years of consistent use at low cost. When you order our instructional DVD you will discover how easy it is to make your own aquarium or grow lights at a fraction of similar lights now selling at local or internet dealers.

Aquarium Lights require our "Bumpers" that are made to protect the light from excessive heat and scratches when using the lights directly on top of the aquarium glass cover.

Finally, when you order my DVD, you will find out how you can hand spray each case in a Black or other colors to match your custom or stock aquarium. In other words we will show you how to Re-Manufacturer the light from start to finish.

WARNING: I do not recommend anyone doing these electrical modifications or attempting repair of our lights without viewing our DVD. Improper wiring on the outside of the housing can be dangerous and can even cause death by electrocution if not done correctly. Customer modification or attempted repairs of these lights will VOID any LOA Warranty, so purchase order our DVD and you won't have to worry about blowing the electronic circuits of your LOA lights.

The Fluorex Bulb comes with a bulb manufacturer's 2 year warranty. Our DVD will show you how to replace a faulty part which means you can purchase a new light, swap parts if need be and return the defective unit to the Home Depot you purchased it from.

This has become a very popular question. The general rule for Tropical Aquariums is one light for each 18-24" of tank length. I started out with 2 lights on my 55 Gallon tank which is 48" wide and recently added a third light which I actually liked...but after a few weeks noticed increased algae growth, so I have now gone back to the two lights. On my 29 Gallon which is 30" wide where I keep the babies, I am now using two lights.

So depending on the amount of illumination you personally like or your plants or coral might need for vigorous growth you can start with this formula and add if you want a higher degree of illumination later on. On larger tanks from 100 gallons up, the width of the tank (front to back) also becomes an issue in trying to figure out this formula. My 55 is only 12" wide, but a larger tank is usually 18" wide or wider and of course deeper then mine. In these cases I have recommended stepping up the light and even turning them sideways on the tank to get better coverage from the front to the back of the tank. If doing this then I would recommend one light for each 12-15" of length. On a tank that has a length of 60" I would suggest 4 lights minimum.

This recommendation is for tropical or marine aquariums. Remember you must see what type of light your plants or coral will need and this then will dictate the number of lights required for plant and live coral or rock growth. Each light will emit 4550 Lumens of light, so use this as a guide.

Many customers ask about the number of "watts" needed for their tanks. This "Formula" people are talking about relates to the older type fluorescent lights which output around 3-4 times the energy used to power the lights. This light is much more efficient and of a different design and will output around 8 times the power is consumes to operate. So if in fact you were attempting to use this formula you would only need 3 watts per gallon...but again this does not take into account the "throw" or coverage of the light. This light measures 8" X12" and will cover on the average tank double that area. So I like to figure every 24" of length of most tanks another light.

In tropical fish tanks, you might find that too much algae is growing in your tank. Simply do a 15-20% water change each week as I do, using an aquarium siphon type vacuum so you can get into the gravel and clean it. Cut the light down to 10-12 hours per day and do not overfeed the fish as their waste acts like fertilizer to encourage algae growth. Remember, algae like plants need a light source and food to grow. Another method to keep algae growth down or eliminate it all together is to use the commercially available products that will eliminate it all together.

My tanks are doing great and my fish are very happy giving me an average of 30 new fry each week. Soon I will have to find people to give the fish too as they are sure to out grow their accommodations. If you live near Hazlet, NJ call me if you want to pick up some lights and some free fish too.

Thanks to my repeat customer Gerard Fox of Canada for this great shot showing 6 Len's Lights on his 230 Gallon Tropical Aquarium
What a great illustration on the proper way to grow lush tropical underwater plants.

Note: Any light fall off seen in this photo is due to the blocked light from the vigorous plant growth. In Marine Aquariums this is not the case. Please understand that these larger tanks only have a depth of up to 30" or a bit deeper and these lights will easily light those depths without any difficulty.

It is similar light output, but is a softer, diffused light. Some Halides will actually output as much as 10,000 Lumens of Light and ours will output 4,500 Lumens. Lumens output deals with the distance of the light to the subject and you must remember the Halide will have to be hung much higher above the tank to avoid the intense heat from cooking the fish. This means a rapid drop in light actually hitting the aquarium and the effective Lumens of the Halide vs. the Flourex becomes very close. Remember, our lights actually sit on top of the tank top so they come very close to the same light output as those very hot, expensive and dangerous halides and they won't heat the tank which as you know could wipe out your entire live stock (hence the need for expensive Chiller Units).

As a photographer, I have learned to deal with the amount and quality of light. If I want high contrast, harsh shadows, I would look for a "Hard Light". This is similar to noon day sun shining on your face or the light from a spot light. You know how awful those photos look because of the hard shadows and washed out highlights. When we want to reduce the contrast in an image we diffuse the light and create a softer light. Similar to daylight with a little cloud cover or the soft light coming into a window with white sheer curtains.

So why does the Halide lights look so bright? It is because it is a high contrast, narrow, hard light source. It produces a pinpoint light (like a spot light) and lots of shadow and bright spots in a marine aquarium. Many people however, prefer a softer, or less contrasty light and that is what our Fluorex lights deliver. By virtue of how the light is produced (heated gas creates the light and passes it through a soft white glass housing vs. a clear glass with a red hot element burning to produce the light) we end up with a softer, less contrasty light. A light that will show off your aquarium plants, coral and fish softer and better then the halides.

Some customers have written me to ask why our light doesn't seem to be as bright. Well actually, it is a similar light output as the Halide, but it is a softer more diffused light. It might take a little getting used to, but I can assure you that once you use these lights, there is no turning back. Remember the Light Output in Lux or Lumens is about half of what a 500 Watt Halide will deliver, but given the distance of our lights to your aquarium vs. the Halides which hang above the tank, the difference is not that great.

These lights will grow soft and hard coral...Absolutely

I get asked this and other similar questions all the time and you have seen a other information at Question 4 or Question 8

First let me restate that many types of tropical aquarium plants and marine coral require a certain set of conditions to grow properly. Water quality is high on the list and of course and comes lighting.

You should first decide the type of plants or coral you want to have in your tank, read about the requirements of that particular type of plant or coral and match it to the conditions you intend to have in your tank. Make sure the plants or coral require a high output 6500K (Kelvin) light. Some people like a 10,000K light because they might prefer the bluer color it imparts on the tank, but really has to do with the depth in the ocean that your coral will grow. Soft and hard coral growing in shallow water will love our 6500K lights.

hard coral that grows in deep dark, blue water might prefer the 10,000-12,000K light and we can now offer an inexpensive option to easily adjust your current lights to what ever color temperature you require. Please review Question 4 and read about our new Roscoe Filter Gels. These will not only save you a ton of money over other systems, but will now give you the ability to keep your coral and live stock healthy and growing.

Some people have told me they have a mixture of the two types of lights Actinic lights and mine, to up the wave length (or degrees Kelvin) to have just the color combination they might like. Either way, our lights are once again the best and lowest costing solution to any of your lighting needs.

Next question is how much light do you need for your tanks. Even if you have a huge tank with a 48" depth, this light will do the job. Even if you hang it over the tank a few feet from the top, there will be enough light. Determine how much light the tank really needs (how many Lumens or Lux of light is recommended) or if you like a bright lit tank or not.

This light outputs 4550 Lumens per light, same as a 500 W Halide. Finally determine how many lights you will need for your aquarium. You might want to have less or more space between the lights to simulate bright daylight, sundown or evening.

In the 13 months I produced these lights, I sold over 1,000 lights on eBay and as you can see from my profile, all of my grow light and aquarium light customers seem to be quite happy with the lights. I have only had reports of successful plant and growth of all sorts of coral or aquarium live stock. As a matter of fact, these lights do so well at growing beneficial algae and marine food, that they are often bought to light Refugiums. Now with our new filter options, you can make it even easier to control the look and quality of the light in your aquariums.

I have found a wealth of information on the Drs. Foster and Smith's Live Aquaria web site. They sell all sorts of marine live stock and corals and have complete listings of most corals and their requirements. You will see they recommend traditional compact fluorescent as well as Halides. Of course they don't know that our lights even exist or that they will blow away any compact fluorescent now available for marine aquariums, proof one more time that our lights are the correct choice.

Please look at this listing for Purple Acropora Coral from Fiji and note their recommendations. Then go and view all the other coral and what they require and compare that to what you are buying or currently own. This information I think will convince you that these lights are the best in the world for any marine set up. Remember our lights are only sold on eBay and mail order through our web site. Retail stores do not know they even exist, so please don't write me and tell me that "the guy in the fish store told you they aren't any good" why, because they don't know about these lights and we want to keep it that way for now.

These lights can be set up with our filters and timers to simulate Dawn to Dusk

Another good question. The answer is yes using our new filters you can create a dawn to dusk set up quite easily, providing the tank is large enough. On a tank using 3 or more lights you can alternate the lights using a strip outlet and timers and our filters. At Dawn or Dusk you set up the timers and 1 or more alternate lights to go on with our 3203 and possibly our 3206 (use both filters or even two 3202's) to give you a very rich deep blue light with a color temperature from 14,000K up. Then later in the day and for a shorter period have the other one or two lights without any filtration kick in to simulate full sunlight. The "mix" of the filtered and non-filtered light should do the trick.

For more extensive lighting information go to: http://www.islandaquatics.com/articles_lighting.php

26. I now see some Sellers on eBay offering what looks a little like your lights, are they the same?

I have noticed that my lights and my hard work has created a number of sellers on eBay. I am happy I have been able to bring these modified lights to so many people in dire need of low cost and effective lights. Siince we no longer make the lights ourselves and assembly is relatively easy and anyone can do it with some modest ability, we have begun to offer our Do-It-Yourself instructional DVD. Some sellers have purchased our DVD while others have attempted crudly to add an electrical wire to the flood lights. If the light is not wired internally do not purchase it as it will be dangerous to use in a home where moisture can cause an electrical hazard.

Here is what you get when you order the DVD from me.

* Full detailed video showing you how to open the flood lights, remove the components, wire it and re assemble it safely.
* Availability of our exclusive Color Correction Filters to enable you to adjust your lights to suit your marine requirements
* Tips on purchasing a low cost, but Heavy Electrical Power Cord for your modification.
* My optional innovative clear Bumper System to assure proper ventilation on a glass top
* Our optional exclusive Glare Guard™ to prevent light spill from the front lens of the light
* A full tech support via email or phone to my DVD customers.

NOTE: Once these lights are "modified in any way, the manufacturers warranty is VOID".

Questions Answered On This Page