# Satellite LED Plus Pro vs Finnex Ray2



## TLL0003 (Apr 7, 2013)

I have a 45 gallon planted tank with boesemani rainbowfish and various plants. African water fern, anubias, java fern, and swords. My T5 bulbs have never really provided enough light for the sword, probably because the tank is 21" tall. I have decided to get an LED fixture to replace the T5 and I am in between the Satellite LED Plus Pro and the Finnex Ray2. Does anyone have any ideas how well the satellite fixture will do with the plants in the tank? I really like the ability to control the lighting with the Satellite fixture and the different colors with this rather than the all white with the Finnex. I have ordered both from amazon to see which one I like better, but I want to see if anyone here has any input on either of these lights. I will put up pictures of the lights if anyone is interested


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## fermentedhiker (Oct 28, 2011)

What T5 fixture did you have? If it's a 2 bulb T5HO I don't think light is the problem with your sword plants.

Not that it matters I suppose since you've ordered the lights. I've never used the Satellite but have used the Ray2 on a 40B(a bit too much light for this really) and it will certainly grow plants.


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## TLL0003 (Apr 7, 2013)

It is a 2 bulb t5 fixture. I've been using a 6500k or 10000k bulb with a color max.


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Re the T5HO (I assume it's HO) a lot has to do with the fixture, what kind of reflector it has makes a very big difference. Also if you're running coralife bulbs, they are notoriously dim, especially the colormax.


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## TLL0003 (Apr 7, 2013)

Right, I needed to get new bulbs but I decided to go ahead and put that money towards a new LED fixture instead.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

> Satellite LED Plus Pro vs Finnex Ray2


No comparison..........


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## TLL0003 (Apr 7, 2013)

How so? What makes it that much better of a light?


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## brooksie321 (Jul 19, 2014)

TLL0003 said:


> How so? What makes it that much better of a light?


Par, spectrum, it's dimmable, par, rgb's, par, oh yah.. it's dimmable!!


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

brooksie321 said:


> Par, spectrum, it's dimmable, par, rgb's, par, oh yah.. it's dimmable!!


LOL, that about covers it.. A visual aid.. 
Anyting under about .2 is fairly low. The Current "at least" boosts the red.. which is sorely lacking in the 7000k LED's of the RayII


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

brooksie321 said:


> Par, spectrum, it's dimmable, par, rgb's, par, oh yah.. it's dimmable!!


Pretty much all LED lights are dimmable.


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## brooksie321 (Jul 19, 2014)

kman said:


> Pretty much all LED lights are dimmable.


Not so much.. well not out of the box anyways... bml and current factory.. finnex and BeamsWorks mod only..


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

brooksie321 said:


> Not so much.. well not out of the box anyways... bml and current factory.. finnex and BeamsWorks mod only..


Well, I never said out of the box.  But most are dimmable via PWM, easily obtainable with external PWM controllers. Current and Ecoxotic just add the IR remote controller options.


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## TLL0003 (Apr 7, 2013)

Here is the tank with the finnex ray2. It is very bright but doesn't look terrible. I am looking forward to seeing the satellite led plus pro I think it will make the fish look better.


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

TLL0003 said:


> Here is the tank with the finnex ray2. It is very bright but doesn't look terrible. I am looking forward to seeing the satellite led plus pro I think it will make the fish look better.


I like the way that looks, but I am also interested in how the satellite led plus does. 

Following!


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

dcutl002 said:


> I like the way that looks, but I am also interested in how the satellite led plus does.
> 
> Following!


The Sat+ and the Sat+ PRO are very different animals.

Similar appearance, but _drastically_ different performance.


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

Ah, I left off the word PRO. Sorry man, I didn't know there was a difference.


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

dcutl002 said:


> Ah, I left off the word PRO. Sorry man, I didn't know there was a difference.


No worries, just clarifying. 

Both are excellent lights, just the level of light output is drastically different.


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

Question: Is the PRO series better than a Finnex Planted plus? just curious. I have a Finnex on a 10 gallon Betta tank.


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

dcutl002 said:


> Question: Is the PRO series better than a Finnex Planted plus? just curious. I have a Finnex on a 10 gallon Betta tank.


Assuming you're referring to a Finnex FugeRay:

Does it put out more light? Heck yeah, it does. Costs a heck of a lot more, too.

Does that make it better for your application? That's for you to determine. PAR is ~100 at 12", which is a LOT of light. Probably too much for such a small tank. 20" FugeRay is 61 PAR at 12".

Of course, it can be dimmed easily. So the question becomes whether the extra features, appearance, lighting modes, etc., justify the money to you, if you end up throttling the light output down to the same level you already have, to avoid algae.


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## TLL0003 (Apr 7, 2013)

The satellite LED Plus Pro is scheduled to get here in a week or more so that may give us some time to see how the plants respond to the Finnex light.


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## krackerjack82 (Oct 26, 2014)

ive been wondering the same thing. looking to upgrade my t5HO soon. I really like all the bells and whistles that come with the sat + pro, but also like the finnex line. I just recently added a stingray to my 48 long 24 deep with my t5's and love the extra light and color the LEd's have made. now I want to go all LED. ive been tore between a satellite + pro, ray2, or planted +.


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## itsbavid (Aug 5, 2015)

HERE YOU GO BUDS!
Satellite+ Pro Only








Ray 2 Only








Satellite+ Pro and Ray 2 On









As you can see the Ray 2 is significantly brighter. I leave both on. the nonce my baby tears fill in I'll just have the Sat on. I had the Ray 2 only for the beginning stages of my tank and it was growing/carpeting the Baby Tears beautifully. I'm eager to see how much they grow now with both on...I just feel like the Sat is a little too dim for my liking. I'm hoping I didnt program it right but who knows


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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

itsbavid said:


> HERE YOU GO BUDS!
> Satellite+ Pro Only
> 
> 
> ...


Sorry for bringing this up...but thank you very much. I was really torn whether I should bother getting the pro or just get 2 more of the ray 2 for a different plant setup. I care more about quantity than "features" ... and seems like 2 of the ray 2 are the same price as the single 24" plus pro in canada.


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## HBdirtbag (Jun 15, 2015)

i think something may be wrong with my pro, the light output just isn't that bright...


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

vraev said:


> Sorry for bringing this up...but thank you very much. I was really torn whether I should bother getting the pro or just get 2 more of the ray 2 for a different plant setup. I care more about quantity than "features" ... and seems like 2 of the ray 2 are the same price as the single 24" plus pro in canada.


If you just want quantity.. 

http://www.aquatraders.com/LED-Aquarium-Lighting-EVO-Quad-Freshwater-Plant-p/56574p.htm

20W vs 84W.. same color rendering.. About the same price.. Better depth penetration..


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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

jeffkrol said:


> If you just want quantity..
> 
> http://www.aquatraders.com/LED-Aquarium-Lighting-EVO-Quad-Freshwater-Plant-p/56574p.htm
> 
> 20W vs 84W.. same color rendering.. About the same price.. Better depth penetration..


Didn;t know that the aqua traders fixtures were powerful enough. Damn...would have bought this if I knew. oh well.... next time. thanks for the headsup.


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## grizzly_a (Sep 9, 2014)

HBdirtbag said:


> i think something may be wrong with my pro, the light output just isn't that bright...


Send it to me and I'll test it for you. :icon_smil


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