# Edge Lighting Upgrade



## Pattern8 (Dec 9, 2015)

I have two of them. One on the 12 gallon model (black) and one on the 6 gallon model (also black). I highly recommend them. The difference between what they provide and the stock light was, for me, pretty incredible. I have photos of those two tanks running the UltraBrite lights somewhere in my profile. Probably the greatest piece of advise I can give you is don't cheat yourself. Though it is an added cost they will set you up with a controller and fully program it according to your wishes. They also provide you with the software (windows only though which is the only draw back...though maybe by now they've included Mac) that allows you to fully program yourself if for whatever reason you wish to change the schedule and/or intensity. I'm not sure if that is an option shown available on the amazon product page but if you email them they will send you the available options and price points.


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## Kampo (Nov 3, 2015)

are those reall 200+ dollars for a 18 watt led? wow I feel you could diy something much better for much lower price not to difficulty.

just my opinion as a penny pinching fish keeper


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## Pattern8 (Dec 9, 2015)

Kampo said:


> are those reall 200+ dollars for a 18 watt led? wow I feel you could diy something much better for much lower price not to difficulty.
> 
> just my opinion as a penny pinching fish keeper



They are on the expensive side but they do use Cree lights and they have performed flawlessly for me for over a year now. I don't have to tinker with a thing. And the build quality of them is nice. I doubt that I could replicate the same with DIY


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## Mike16T (Jun 13, 2016)

If you are handy enough and willing to customize the hood. This flood light will be good. It's small enough to fit in the hood. 

https://www.amazon.com/5500-6500K-W...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=NGY6DWM9BV7MSPPMGVMY

Bump: You can check this thread also..

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/22-planted-nano-tanks/1055353-fluval-edge-6g-work-aquarium-hightech-wip.html


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## Wendy1B (Jan 8, 2017)

Kampo said:


> are those reall 200+ dollars for a 18 watt led? wow I feel you could diy something much better for much lower price not to difficulty.
> 
> just my opinion as a penny pinching fish keeper


I appreciate the penny pinchers in the hobby! I am NOT a DIYer - I just get so flustered if it's not something I've had hands on experience with and I'm particularly scared with anything electrical. I'm too much of a baby, LOL!

Bump:


Pattern8 said:


> I have two of them. One on the 12 gallon model (black) and one on the 6 gallon model (also black). I highly recommend them. The difference between what they provide and the stock light was, for me, pretty incredible. I have photos of those two tanks running the UltraBrite lights somewhere in my profile. Probably the greatest piece of advise I can give you is don't cheat yourself. Though it is an added cost they will set you up with a controller and fully program it according to your wishes. They also provide you with the software (windows only though which is the only draw back...though maybe by now they've included Mac) that allows you to fully program yourself if for whatever reason you wish to change the schedule and/or intensity. I'm not sure if that is an option shown available on the amazon product page but if you email them they will send you the available options and price points.


Thank you for sharing your experience! It makes me feel much better about spending the money :nerd:.
Do you grow any high light plants with yours? The seller of the Rotalas I want were doubtful if this would be intense enough, but not certain, as they have no experience with the Ultra Brite mods. I will be going with all the bells and whistles in the 36 watt fixture. I will be using Aquasoil substrate, water column dosing, and Co2, so I feel I have all the elements necessary for my dream plants, just not sure if this light is intense enough.



Mike16T said:


> If you are handy enough and willing to customize the hood. This flood light will be good. It's small enough to fit in the hood.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/5500-6500K-W...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=NGY6DWM9BV7MSPPMGVMY
> 
> ...


Thank you, Mike, for that price, that flood light just might be worth attempting to see what kind of results I can get with it!


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## Mike16T (Jun 13, 2016)

Wendy1B said:


> Thank you, Mike, for that price, that flood light just might be worth attempting to see what kind of results I can get with it!


No problem... Good luck with the project! Keep us posted.. ^_^


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## Pattern8 (Dec 9, 2015)

Wendy1B said:


> I appreciate the penny pinchers in the hobby! I am NOT a DIYer - I just get so flustered if it's not something I've had hands on experience with and I'm particularly scared with anything electrical. I'm too much of a baby, LOL!
> 
> Bump:
> 
> ...



Yes. They are v e r y bright. I never run mine past 80% and even then only for a few hours. I would suggest running them much lower in the beginning. They are one of the best aquarium purchases I've made. You're going to be glad you went for all the bells and whistles too!


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## Spike Cover (Apr 28, 2015)

*Lights for Fluval Edge tanks*

Hi,

I just paid about $150 for an Edge 12 gallon and am in the process of setting it up. The idea of spending 1.5 times that much more for lights would be a bit of a bitter pill to swallow. I paid about 1/2 that and got much better light distribution in the tank.

I appreciate all the advice found here on this forum. The 12g model comes with a better stock light than the 6g models (I have 2 of those). But, the stock lights don't seem strong enough to grow decent plants (at least not in the 6g tanks). I found someone who recommended Oznium lights. I bought some for my 6g tanks and installed them in 1-1/4" PVC housings (spray-painted black). They work well, i.e., look good and grow plants like crazy. Admittedly, you have to have some DIY skills but it wasn't a big deal.

At www.oznium.com, the Tri-Chip LED Tube - White, 9 inch, 12 mm are $9 each; the AC power adapter was $20 and a little connector was $2 or $3. I only needed 1 AC adapter for the 4 Tri-chip LED tubes so the the bunch for my 2 little 6g tanks came to about $63 including shipping. I'm obviously not an accomplished aquascaper but I'll stick a few pix of the tanks so you can judge for you self if the lights grow plants.

I "weeded" my 6g tanks to use the extras in the 12g, bought a few more and have just about got the 12g up and running. It's cycling now. I added 3 of the 9" white Oznium tubes (housings not built yet... lights just laying on top) and it's too early to tell if this will be enough light to grow plants well. I will have $27 + $20 +$3 + $4 = $54 in the lights (including shipping) plus another $10 for a couple of electronic timers and I'll have about $65 in the whole setup. If you tossed in another $10 for a piece of plastic pipe and some little screws to hold the light-tube clips, you could have $75 in it.

They're a long way from pretty but the 6 gallon tanks grow plants well, and the 12g looks promising.

I've long since discovered that if someone is fairly well set on doing something a particular way, it's difficult to persuade them otherwise. So I'm mostly posting this info for the lukers and others who haven't as yet made up their minds with regard to lighting their Fluval Edge tanks. It's my way of trying to give back for the help I've received.

Spike

PS, this type of ad-on lighting distributes the light better than the standard lights which put it all in the center and back of the tank.


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## Spike Cover (Apr 28, 2015)

Mike16T said:


> If you are handy enough and willing to customize the hood. This flood light will be good. It's small enough to fit in the hood.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/5500-6500K-W...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=NGY6DWM9BV7MSPPMGVMY


For $19 you can't beat this. I noticed in the reviews one person used a couple of them on 220 gallon tank. Thanks.

Spike


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## Mike16T (Jun 13, 2016)

Spike Cover said:


> For $19 you can't beat this. I noticed in the reviews one person used a couple of them on 220 gallon tank. Thanks.
> 
> Spike


No problem! Glad I could help... :grin2:


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## Wendy1B (Jan 8, 2017)

Spike Cover said:


> Hi,
> 
> I just paid about $150 for an Edge 12 gallon and am in the process of setting it up. The idea of spending 1.5 times that much more for lights would be a bit of a bitter pill to swallow. I paid about 1/2 that and got much better light distribution in the tank.
> 
> ...


Thank you for sharing your experience, and for the pictures of your Edges. Your tanks are gorgeous! I have been bitten by some high-light plants bug, and I do have experience growing the plants you have in your tanks. Unfortunately, I'm a little bored with them, and up for the next challenge of attempting a high-tech set up. Let's hope I can pull something decent off! Another aspect of my set up that I am looking forward to is top-down viewing of the plants, which is what made me decide on the Edge. I don't want any extra equipment on top of the glass to disrupt this feature. But I am glad you shared your lighting solution as it is much more affordable than what I was looking at, and I think it will help many attempting to address the Edge stock lighting issues on a budget. I look forward to seeing more of your 12 g Edge as it matures!


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