# Newbie: need light recommendation



## Quagulator (May 4, 2015)

AZvol said:


> Hello all! My very first post, as I'm moving from the reef world into planted tanks.
> 
> My tank is a SC Aquarium rimless 80 gallon. 32" long, 24" deep, and 24" tall. I'm looking to ease into planted tanks by starting low tech, without CO2 bubbler, etc. I've spent hours online and on this forum looking for the right light for me that can cover both 24" of depth and height. At a 32" length, I must also consider that it's not a standard sized tank, although I realize that many lights have the little extender legs. The glass is 12 mm think....slightly less than 1/2".
> 
> ...


Single light fixtures are tough to get proper coverage front to back, I'm having that issue on a 90 gallon that is only 18" front to back... I think 2 units would work best. 30" lights would have to do in your situation, and likely 2 fixtures to give you proper coverage. If you don't want to go with the latest and greatest you could look for a 30" t5-ho unit, I think mine is an aquatic life and the legs it comes with extend a little past 30", but the bulbs are only 24" which drives me nuts. LED's are probable best given the depth of your tank, a lot of lights have difficulty penetrating 24" of water. Current makes a satellite plus pro that would likely work, you could try 1 and see what the coverage is like and then pick up a cheaper beamswork fixture if need be to pick up the slack.


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## Immortal1 (Feb 18, 2015)

I am currently running a 48" Satellite Plus Pro and a 48" Satellite Plus on my standard 75g tank (18" front to back, about 18" from light to sub-straight). Given what I have researched so far I am likely in the medium range for light. I seem to grow many different plants OK, but not great (see build thread below if you would like to see more). 

For your 24" deep tank, and 24" front to back, I would definitely suggest (2) of the Satellite Plus Pro lights. This should give you about the same lighting level I have. Also, for what its worth, Current sells refurbished lights on Ebay for almost 1/2 price. I have 3 of their refurbished lights and have been pretty impressed with what I got for the price.

If you were ever thinking of going more high tech, then I would consider a pair of the AI Prime lights. You have the option of turning down the power, setting pretty much any color you like and the cost is not outrageous.


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## AZvol (Dec 9, 2017)

Thanks much!


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## Proteus01 (Mar 12, 2017)

Willing to consider spot light type fixtures, instead of the bar units? Without cost considerations, Kessil. You can find youtubes showing comparisons to worklights that will do just fine. These would put out a 24” area each, with the right distance, so maybe only two could do. 
The look is quite different from the low profile bars, which may or may not work for you.


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## Quagulator (May 4, 2015)

I would seriously look at kessil if you have the funds. Great lights. Or the AI prime freshwater, I think they are completely controllable via your smartphone.


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## AZvol (Dec 9, 2017)

Thanks. I think I may look at the AI lights. My biggest concern with the AI light is that the aquarium is in my living room, pretty close the the couch we usually sit on. I'm a little worried that I'll always notice this spotlight above the aquarium in the corner of my eye. Any thoughts on that? I suppose I can keep it closer to the water, but then I won't get the spread I need. Will I need 2 AI lights?


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## FuryMonkey (Nov 5, 2017)

I will also highly recommend 2 units of the Current USA Satellites. 

I am running four 36" LED+ on my 220 gallon which has substrate 28" from the lights.

When I bought the tank I had planned on only a few very low light plants and so had just two units; they did a good job of lighting the tank for viewing fish, and I was able to get a bit of growth from java fern, anubias, and some crypts. 

When I decided to go fully planted I chose the Walstad method and bought another two units so that I would have 2 rows of lights for better coverage and higher PAR - it's now around the border between low and medium. I've had excellent success growing lots of different types of plants without CO2 - for me it's been a good balance between growth quality/rate and maintenance.

Plant growing aside, what I really like about these lights is the ability to adjust the brightness of the RGB LEDs. It's truly amazing how different you can make the tank look. My gravel is mostly yellow/white but also has some red grains - lower the blue and green, max the red, and the driftwood and gravel pops out at you - it draws the eye and it's all you see. Then increase the green and all of a sudden now there are plants in there too lol. While I rarely change the settings, when something different happens in the tank (new fish, plant, decoration, etc) I'll spend a few minutes testing different RGB to see how things look.

The ability to fine tune and customize the colour means that you can make any setup will look good and you choose what to accentuate. I like to set mine to make the hardscape and plants look their best, but I'll be stocking the tank with lots of rainbow fish and later I might adjust the lights to make one particular species look it's best, and then maybe a week later I'll focus on a different species.

While the cost of the lights was not insignificant by any measure, they've been faultless for 3 years and I have no regrets about buying them.


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## AZvol (Dec 9, 2017)

Wow Monkey. That tank has no CO2? Looks incredible for a low tech tank. I was under the impression I'd be settling for less green than that for a low tech tank. Very nice job. And thanks for the nice reply. I just ordered two Current USA Pro lights. If they don't work out well enough I'll go with Kessil or AI.

Thanks everyone!


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## underH20garden (Dec 19, 2017)

Hey my friend,
I am also a reefer thinking about FW planted...I have the 90 SC but that's is gonna stay a reef...haha 
just wondering what you went with? 

I was gonna suggest ( if you can find one) a Built my led FW 36" light. as an option that not yet been said.
I know what you mean about setting on the couch and not wanting to be blinded my the light...haha


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## AZvol (Dec 9, 2017)

I went with the Current USA Satellite Pro (x2), but they won't arrive until early January. Once I get them set up, I'll post a brief review.


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## underH20garden (Dec 19, 2017)

cool thanks! i'll keep an eye out for it.
i have a few "extra" tanks around so now thinking about a planted tank just to try my hand at it. looks fun??


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