Full spectrum led grow lights

Currently using a 26 watt zoo med spiral UVB light for my macaw. Was wondering if anyone can tell me if it would be a good idea to purchase a full spectrum 48 x 3watt led lighting setup? The 26watt just seems dim to me but want to make sure that the macaw would benefit from the brighter led. Thanks for any help.

Inorder to simulate sun light they need to be very powerful bulbs that high in wattage and strong blinding light. Any full spectrum you buy on the market don't really do much for your bird.

http://http://www.topledgrowlight.com/reflector-led-grow-light-96x3w.html
This is an option that I was looking into.

Inorder for most to work they need to be in pretty close proximity for the strong ones. But the unfortunate part is that light would blind your bird.....

I see. Any recomendations?

Do regular sun light! Otherwise any light would do for indoors.

alright. Thanks!

I have those leds but my parrot doesnt like it..

JanHarvey said:

I used High Power LED Grow 4s Lights that produced ligh spectrum similar to sun for indoor farming. Grow lights are also called farming LED.
High Power 4S is becoming the global leader for providing lights for Alta LED technology which is best for Growing Plants with best results. Each and every single watt diode produces the full spectrum fulfill their desired intensity.
I suggest you to try for one time and you know its qualities for indoor planting.

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Sounds like you're in the lighting business Jan.....

Given the diversity in the claimed producers (bulbs/tubes/emitters) of "full spectrum light" and lacking any type of standard for determining the efficacy of man-made FSL, how do cold-light LEDs factor into vitamin D3 production in birds?

In the past few years we've seen the lighting market jump on the LED bandwagon, but I have not seen any independent studies as to the efficacy of using these products in the production of vitamin D3 in humans or animals.....granted, there has been a lot of supposition about their use in "light therapy," though the verifiable independent studies continue to be lacking there also.....but then, that's why manufacturers maintain good marketing departments, isn't it, to spin the truths?

In your post, you mentioned that you "used Grow 4s Lights," what do you use now?

After lots of research over many forums. I got to know about few best led grow lights. Choosing best full spectrum led grow light is hard, but in a forum I got one link shared by an expert to get best list of full spectrum lights. Here is the link https://budsoflife.org/full-spectrum-led-grow-light-reviews/

Please do not use ANY Coil/Spiral bulbs on your bird or any other pets, such as reptiles!!!

Not only are spiral/coil bulbs (UVB and otherwise) extremely weak and pointless, but they ALL emit harmful light rays that are a by-product of their manufacturing process! They ALL, including ZooMed Coils bulbs, cause severe eye damage, blindness, and skin damage.

Coil/Spiral bulbs are pointless anyway, as are Compact (regular lightbulb shaped) bulbs. They do not emit a fraction of the amount of light necessary to be useful for any pet, unless you're talking about a Mercury Vapor Bulb, which is technically a Compact bulb. That's it.

And I'm talking about pets that need, require, and benefit from artificial lighting, such as reptiles, amphibians, etc. Parrots are not on this list. If you want your reptiles and amphibians to be healthy, always use a T10 or better yet a T5 strength tube in a strip light...

***Birds do not need to be put under an artificial light source at all!!! They do not require UVB in order to manufacture their own Vitamin D3, and thus don't have issues processing, digesting, or using the Calcium they ingest. Parrots are very similar to humans, dogs, cats, etc. when it comes to lighting...THEY NEED NATURAL SUNLIGHT TO BE OF ANY BENEFIT!!! Putting your bird under artificial "bird lights" not only does your bird no good at all, but can result is serious health issues over time, specifically damage to their eyes, feathers, and skin. So you end-up doing harm to what you were trying to help in the first place...

If you're worried about your bird needing more light, take him outside for natural sunlight as much as possible. If your bird's room is too cold and it's a heating issue, then either find an alternate heat source that is bird-safe, or switch to Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) bulbs. And if you're simply needing a general light-source in your bird's room, then switch over to a basic LED bulb (strip LEDs are better) that is not going to hurt his eyes. But please get the Coil/Spiral ZooMed bulb off of him, as it absolutely will cause health issues over-time, as they always do with reptiles, amphibians, etc.

The problem with these lights is there very intense at the range they are intended to be used. 12-24 inches away. I have used these lights and even at 100 watts they are extremely intense and can not be looked at directly. Your best bet for led lightning full spectrum would to look at aquarium lights. They are made to cover the full spectrum but not blind your animals. They should be looking into making an led light for the aviary industry though great idea. But seriously avoid the grow lights they are just way to intense. Aquarium lightning is a little more expensive but built stronger and tougher.

I know there is controversy about bird lighting, and while I do believe sunlight is best, I have known too many birds who appear to benefit from bird lighting in the winter etc (when direct sun isn't possible). I don't know about grow-lights, but assuming one is cautious about light distance, sun-burns, excess heat and retinal issues, I don't think indoor lighting hurts...

I don't recommend using Zoomed bulbs at all... they are literally just rebranded reptile bulbs... and birds require a different amount/type of light than reptiles do.

There's the Featherbrite brand. It's been a while since I've looked into it, but I think these were more on par with being "good" lights. *NEVER* heard of these causing burns like Zoomed lights!


The plant grow lights may be *great* but you need to make sure that the Kelvins and CRI ratings are correct or within range.

weco said:

JanHarvey said:

I used High Power LED Grow 4s Lights that produced ligh spectrum similar to sun for indoor farming. Grow lights are also called farming LED.
High Power 4S is becoming the global leader for providing lights for Alta LED technology which is best for Growing Plants with best results. Each and every single watt diode produces the full spectrum fulfill their desired intensity.
I suggest you to try for one time and you know its qualities for indoor planting.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you're in the lighting business Jan.....

Given the diversity in the claimed producers (bulbs/tubes/emitters) of "full spectrum light" and lacking any type of standard for determining the efficacy of man-made FSL, how do cold-light LEDs factor into vitamin D3 production in birds?

In the past few years we've seen the lighting market jump on the LED bandwagon, but I have not seen any independent studies as to the efficacy of using these products in the production of vitamin D3 in humans or animals.....granted, there has been a lot of supposition about their use in "light therapy," though the verifiable independent studies continue to be lacking there also.....but then, that's why manufacturers maintain good marketing departments, isn't it, to spin the truths?

In your post, you mentioned that you "used Grow 4s Lights," what do you use now?

Click to expand...

The use of these for Full Spectrum Light (FSL) and Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have been controversial for quite sometime. Research has shown each side correct. It's up to you really. It's simply controversial with both sides being proven. ***AT THIS POINT, it is still "owner's choice."*** In time, either side could be proven right or wrong.

Like with any controversial topic, many will declare their choice correct and many will take an opposing view, often for the SAME reasons. HAHA FSL is one of many as is LED as is Wing-clipping. This widely debated topic may be in the wrong forum. HAHA

At our co-op store, they call them UV lights, farm lights or simply grow lights (Jargon is fun.) of varying wattage depending on the purpose and fixture. I have successfully used these for both plants and birds for years, initially standards graduating to LEDs.

Concerned over the debate, I asked my Electrical Engineer and Journeyman Electrician brother about them. He replied, "Spinning has several twists and exits. Rather than stir up controversy, rely on YOUR experience."

My experience is these work. These "grow leds" get used as reading lamps in my home and have never caused blindness in myself or my birds. In fact, most of my fixtures have LED grow spirals now. I highly doubt you'll need high-emittance lights, so the size you will assumedly be using is negligible.

Although natural sunlight is the preference, there are a number of climatic and environmental reasons natural light isn't possible or available.

This subject comes up every Fall in the Great White North, across the Northern Hemisphere. There is no controversy surrounding this subject. The problem is that the original 'Junk Science' was paid for by the Lighting Industry a very long time ago. Their goal was to create a market for a single use light tube they had created for the color scoring industry (Color Proofing), which required a specific light spectrum. That light has many names today, but it is the light at 12:00 hours in London on a Bright Sunny Day.

That original Junk Science has been repeated by any number of groups over the years, each receiving monies from the same industry with the same goal; maintain and find additional markets for their product. The reality is that any undertaking in which the finding(s) are pre-stated (a Goal) demands that one looks closely at the documentation. Here near all individuals only read the summations and never go any further. Subjective statements by Humans that they feel better is not acceptable science.

In closing, subjective statements are just that subjective statements.
- Light at the required spectrum require a specific wave length which cannot be produced by light bulbs or tubes. The industry uses a color coating to create the needed spectrum.
- Blindness can occur when 'any' light source is placed to close to the eye. One not becoming blind is not proof only that the subject has been lucky! The vision specialists in both Human and Vet circles see far too many cases of vision loss due to over-exposure of light.

At the end of the day. Its your Money, your Parrot and your Eyes. It becomes your choice on how one spends one's money. The reality is that there is an ever growing body of Junk Science with prepaid and predetermend outcomes. It becomes your responsibility to dig deeper. I always look at just who is paying for the study.

I've been trying to find some full spectrum LED-lights for my aquaria, no luck yet!
Personally I would not put a parrot under a LED-light (those things give me a headache ) and there is (afaik) still no consensus about LED being safe or harmfull.

LOL maybe I am a coward, but would like to be sure first.

SailBoat said:

This subject comes up every Fall in the Great White North, across the Northern Hemisphere. There is no controversy surrounding this subject. The problem is that the original 'Junk Science' was paid for by the Lighting Industry a very long time ago. Their goal was to create a market for a single use light tube they had created for the color scoring industry (Color Proofing), which required a specific light spectrum. That light has many names today, but it is the light at 12:00 hours in London on a Bright Sunny Day.

That original Junk Science has been repeated by any number of groups over the years, each receiving monies from the same industry with the same goal; maintain and find additional markets for their product. The reality is that any undertaking in which the finding(s) are pre-stated (a Goal) demands that one looks closely at the documentation. Here near all individuals only read the summations and never go any further. Subjective statements by Humans that they feel better is not acceptable science.

In closing, subjective statements are just that subjective statements.
- Light at the required spectrum require a specific wave length which cannot be produced by light bulbs or tubes. The industry uses a color coating to create the needed spectrum.
- Blindness can occur when 'any' light source is placed to close to the eye. One not becoming blind is not proof only that the subject has been lucky! The vision specialists in both Human and Vet circles see far too many cases of vision loss due to over-exposure of light.

At the end of the day. Its your Money, your Parrot and your Eyes. It becomes your choice on how one spends one's money. The reality is that there is an ever growing body of Junk Science with prepaid and predetermend outcomes. It becomes your responsibility to dig deeper. I always look at just who is paying for the study.

Click to expand...

Wow, you must be the smartest person in the room.

LeslieA said:

SailBoat said:

This subject comes up every Fall in the Great White North, across the Northern Hemisphere. There is no controversy surrounding this subject. The problem is that the original 'Junk Science' was paid for by the Lighting Industry a very long time ago. Their goal was to create a market for a single use light tube they had created for the color scoring industry (Color Proofing), which required a specific light spectrum. That light has many names today, but it is the light at 12:00 hours in London on a Bright Sunny Day.

That original Junk Science has been repeated by any number of groups over the years, each receiving monies from the same industry with the same goal; maintain and find additional markets for their product. The reality is that any undertaking in which the finding(s) are pre-stated (a Goal) demands that one looks closely at the documentation. Here near all individuals only read the summations and never go any further. Subjective statements by Humans that they feel better is not acceptable science.

In closing, subjective statements are just that subjective statements.
- Light at the required spectrum require a specific wave length which cannot be produced by light bulbs or tubes. The industry uses a color coating to create the needed spectrum.
- Blindness can occur when 'any' light source is placed to close to the eye. One not becoming blind is not proof only that the subject has been lucky! The vision specialists in both Human and Vet circles see far too many cases of vision loss due to over-exposure of light.

At the end of the day. Its your Money, your Parrot and your Eyes. It becomes your choice on how one spends one's money. The reality is that there is an ever growing body of Junk Science with prepaid and predetermend outcomes. It becomes your responsibility to dig deeper. I always look at just who is paying for the study.

Click to expand...

Wow, you must be the smartest person in the room.

Click to expand...

No, I have never claimed to be the smartest person in any room, let alone this one. Thirty plus years ago, one of my customers was a color match facility for the Auto Industry. They had been a longtime customer of each of the major manufacturers of lighting tubes. Their head of engineering was a true expert regarding this subject. Every time one of their suppliers would finance another study, he would obtain a copy of the study and provide a detailed review for upper management and his staff. You would be shocked as to how short the time line is in any bulb provided in spectrum light.

When it comes to indoor growing lights plays vital role.
As i mentioned in my introduction. I had a terrific experience of chosing wrong light and using it in completely wrong manner.
It seems like you're new to cultivation. I'm glad that we both have mutual hobbies of pet keeping and gardening.
I bought lights after reading some information over internet.
to help you out in selection of one of the best out of many here's the link which i refereed before my purchase.
https://420expertguide.com/
Hope it helps.