# Finnex Planted+ 12" PAR?



## StrangeDejavu (Jun 23, 2014)

I've been eyeballing a few nano cubes for a desktop/bedside shrimp tank lately. A quick Amazon search revealed Finnex sells a 7.5g cube bundled with the FugeRAY Planted+ 12" LED. I've been able to find PAR data on all other models except the 12 inch. Anyone know offhand or have a chart to share? I'm mainly curious whether this light over this tank with say, 3" of substrate, would make it low, medium or high lighting.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

Where did you find PAR data for the other Planted+ models?

They require fairly good equipment to measure correctly (ie: LiCor not Apogee) due to their oddball spectrum, so there's *VERY* little par data out there for the planted+ lineup. I'd be quite eager to see some real numbers if anyone has them.


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## StrangeDejavu (Jun 23, 2014)

mattinmd said:


> Where did you find PAR data for the other Planted+ models?
> 
> They require fairly good equipment to measure correctly (ie: LiCor not Apogee) due to their oddball spectrum, so there's *VERY* little par data out there for the planted+ lineup. I'd be quite eager to see some real numbers if anyone has them.


Disregard that part of the post, I went back to that thread and realized all the data was for standard Ray and Ray II. :icon_redf I guess I have no real way of knowing then. I'm hoping for low-medium as I wont be doing CO2 (shrimp) and I don't want algae problems.


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## StrangeDejavu (Jun 23, 2014)

Finnex just replied to my inquiry, here's their response:



> Thanks for your interest in our lighting. We do not have the par values for the Planted + lights, but it should be like our regular FugeRay series or just a tiny bit more.


Assuming the above values are what I can expect (give or take 2-3 PAR), would I be looking at low, medium or high light? The light will be on a 12" tall rimless with 2.5" - 3" of substrate. Where I land in lighting intensity will pretty much tell me which plants to buy (HC carpet if high, DHG if medium).


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## StrangeDejavu (Jun 23, 2014)

Bump.


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

So you have a 12" cube, 3" of substrate, and a light sitting about an inch above the rim. 10" from light to substrate.

So that puts you a tad over 25 PAR for the height, and another tad for the planted vs fugeray... Maybe 30-35 PAR/PPFD, somewhere in the low-medium boundary.

That said, for shallow depths I'm not bank on the planted+ being only slightly above the Fugeray original. It might be noticeably stronger, maybe as much as 45 PAR/PPFD, which is solidly medium light..


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## Ziggy (Sep 2, 2011)

I'm in the same boat as the OP. Been eyeing one of these but am wondering if its too much for a non-CO2 setup...


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## StrangeDejavu (Jun 23, 2014)

Thanks Matt, I guess I need to look around at lighting options then. I already have 3 low light tanks so I was really wanting to try my hand at medium/high and CO2.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

I think my shrimp breed better if I don't use Excel but it's an option if you don't have shrimp. It would cover 45PAR if you needed to use it. I think raising the light would be better though. I think that as heavy as that fixture is(eyes rolling in head) that a PVC pipe frame that you painted black etc would not look bad and would hold it at any height you wanted.


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## falcooo (Sep 30, 2011)

mattinmd said:


> So you have a 12" cube, 3" of substrate, and a light sitting about an inch above the rim. 10" from light to substrate.
> 
> So that puts you a tad over 25 PAR for the height, and another tad for the planted vs fugeray... Maybe 30-35 PAR/PPFD, somewhere in the low-medium boundary.
> 
> That said, for shallow depths I'm not bank on the planted+ being only slightly above the Fugeray original. It might be noticeably stronger, maybe as much as 45 PAR/PPFD, which is solidly medium light..


 
It wasn't my original question, but thanks! I've been looking for that information all day. I just ordered the same Finnex 7.5 Planted+ setup....what plants do you think would thrive with ~40 PAR? Dwarf Baby Tears?


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## xev11 (Jan 19, 2010)

Finnex also has a new Stingray light lineup which is 1 row of white, red, blue leds
http://www.theaquaticplantsociety.org/finnex_stingray_led/


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

falcooo said:


> It wasn't my original question, but thanks! I've been looking for that information all day. I just ordered the same Finnex 7.5 Planted+ setup....what plants do you think would thrive with ~40 PAR? Dwarf Baby Tears?


40 par/PPFD is medium light... Look for plants that grow in medium/moderate light in the many online guides.

Dwarf baby tears are generally considered high light plants and prefer CO2 injection. I've never grown it, as I don't have a high-light tank.


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## kidgrave (Feb 4, 2014)

falcooo said:


> It wasn't my original question, but thanks! I've been looking for that information all day. I just ordered the same Finnex 7.5 Planted+ setup....what plants do you think would thrive with ~40 PAR? Dwarf Baby Tears?


I think dwarf baby tears would do good, provided that you have enough ferts and co2. 

You should look into the list of low light, medium light, and high light plants. You should be able to grow most medium light plants. Take a look at this list.

http://tropica.com/en/plants/?tabIndex=2&alias=Medium


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## mattinmd (Aug 16, 2014)

xev11 said:


> Finnex also has a new Stingray light lineup which is 1 row of white, red, blue leds
> http://www.theaquaticplantsociety.org/finnex_stingray_led/


That's *less* light... 

The OP is looking for medium-high light, clearly not the realm of the stingray unless your tank is only 6" deep.


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## StrangeDejavu (Jun 23, 2014)

kidgrave said:


> You should look into the list of low light, medium light, and high light plants. You should be able to grow most medium light plants. Take a look at this list.
> 
> http://tropica.com/en/plants/?tabIndex=2&alias=Medium


Great resource, thanks for this.


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## kidgrave (Feb 4, 2014)

You welcome, StrangeDejavu.  Let me know how you like your fixture and the results of your plant growth.


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## StrangeDejavu (Jun 23, 2014)

The analysis paralysis is finally over, just ordered the Finnex bundle.  I'll post pics when everything arrives, and i'll likely do a tank journal for the setup itself.


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## StrangeDejavu (Jun 23, 2014)

mattinmd said:


> So you have a 12" cube, 3" of substrate, and a light sitting about an inch above the rim. 10" from light to substrate.
> 
> So that puts you a tad over 25 PAR for the height, and another tad for the planted vs fugeray... Maybe 30-35 PAR/PPFD, somewhere in the low-medium boundary.
> 
> That said, for shallow depths I'm not bank on the planted+ being only slightly above the Fugeray original. It might be noticeably stronger, maybe as much as 45 PAR/PPFD, which is solidly medium light..


Looks like you were dead on, Matt. The Planted+ 12" is way brighter than I was expecting, especially since it's the size of a shoe. :hihi: I'd say this is easily my brightest tank, so I hope it grows plants better than algae!

For anyone familiar with photography- these were taken at ISO-100. Even this low they're really bright.


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