Aquarium lights can either be too expensive or lacking when it comes to waterproofing. MingDak’s Submersible LED Aquarium Light attempts to solve both of these potential issues.
You can check out Aquarium Blueprints’ review of this product below to see if it fits the needs of your fish tank.
Lengths
The MingDak Submersible LED Aquarium Light comes in four different lengths:
- 7.5 inch
- 11 inch
- 15 inch
- 18.5 inch
Comparison Chart
All four versions of the product also have different lumens, number of LEDs and wattage usages. You can check out the differences with the following comparison chart:
| 7.5" | 11" | 15" | 18.5" |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEDs Quantity | 18 | 30 | 42 | 57 |
| Lumens | 279 lm | 465 lm | 651 lm | 915 lm |
| Wattage | 4 W | 6 W | 8 W | 11 W |
| Pricing | Check Price on Amazon. | Check Price on Amazon. | Check Price on Amazon. | Check Price on Amazon. |
Features
Waterproof
The MingDak Submersible LED Aquarium Light is completely waterproof. Thus, you can completely submerge the LED lighting fixture underwater without having to worry about it potentially breaking and causing harm to the fish in your aquarium.
Mounting Suction Cups
The lights can be attached with suction cups to the glass or acrylic panels of your fish tank. The suction cups can be slid into different positions in addition to being removable and rotatable, giving you plenty of options when it comes to placement.
Lighting Modes
MingDak’s LED Aquarium Light has three lighting modes: Blue, White as well as the combination of Blue and White.
Built-in Dimmer
Also included is a dimmer where you can adjust the brightness levels. You can change this setting in the following increments: 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% and 100%.
Built-in Timer
This particular aquarium light also comes with a built-in timer. You will be able to set how long the lights will remain powered in the following increments: 6 hours, 10 hours and 12 hours.
In-Line Controller
The Submersible LED Light uses an in-line controller where you can change the settings for the aforementioned lighting modes, brightness and timer.
Pros
What we like most about the MingDak Submersible LED Aquarium Light is the affordability. A vast majority of lights that come equipped with a timer, dimmer and/or different lighting modes usually costs a lot more. So you definitely get a lot of value out of this relatively affordable product.
The other major advantage this lighting fixture has is its versatility. Most aquarium lights can only be hanged above the fish tank. Since the MingDak Submersible LED Aquarium Light is waterproof, you can put it anywhere underwater. This will allow you to highlight certain aspects of your tank and create various lighting effects that you otherwise have a harder time doing with a regular fish tank light that has to be put on the top of the aquarium.
We also loved that you can change the color and brightness levels. The blue color is great if you have a saltwater tank or fish that are nocturnal (such as the Kuhli Loach). Not to mention that the blue light will really make the colors of the GloFish pop out. The white light is also great as it provides a natural sunlight look to the tank. Since you can also adjust the brightness levels to these colors, you can create a lot of unique lighting conditions for your tank.
Cons
The biggest issue we have with the LED Aquarium Light from MingDak is that it is not really suitable for growing live plants that requires medium or high lighting. Even when you use the max brightness setting, there simply isn’t enough lights to keep plants alive and healthy.
If you want to grow moderate or hard to keep plants, then you should take a look at the Fluval Plant 3.0 or Fluval Aquasky 2.0 instead.
The other problem we have is that longest MingDak Submersible LED Aquarium Lighting available is only 18.5 inches. If you have a tank that is longer than that, then you might have to buy multiple units of the same product or simply get another product that best fit the needs of your fish tank.
One last negative about this product is the limited timer functionality as you can also set it to turn the lights on and off. So you are out of luck if you want the lights to automatically change from one brightness level to another and/or from one color to another. Instead, you can to manually change the lighting conditions with the aforementioned in-line controller.
Recap
For its affordable price, the MingDak Submersible LED Aquarium Light is a great investment as you can place it underwater.
Not to mention that you can also change the colors (Blue, White and Blue + White) as well as the brightness levels (from 10% to 100%).
If you want an affordable aquarium light for a small tank (18.5 inches long at most) that is also versatile when it comes to placement and lighting settings, then we highly recommend this product.
If you are interested, you can purchase with the following link on Amazon:
- MingDak Submersible LED Aquarium Light(#CommissionsEarned)
If you want to grow plants that require medium/high lighting or have an aquarium that is longer than 18.5 inches, then you may be are better off getting another product.