# LED Lighting



## apoxin (Aug 6, 2013)

I'm probably going to switch from my super dim T8 fixture to an LED fixture.
The two that I'm most interested in now are the 30" Finnex Fugeray and the Marineland Double Bright fixtures. I've read the PAR ratings and the Fugeray seems to be better, but if anybody has any insight pertaining to either of these, I'd like to hear your opinions! 

My aquarium is not quite 18" deep and it's 30" long.
As for plants, I have some anacharis, java fern, and some vallisneria right now, but I'm hoping to add more.


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

I don't have experience with the two but I've been researching LEDs for my 20 long (30" long) and I've looked at both those fixtures and the Current LED+. I'm leaning towards the latter.

They all seem to have comparable PAR, even at 18", and are really fit for low or low/medium light plants. What really put me over the edge was price. At DrsFostersSmith.com the Current LED+ is on sale for 87.99 with free shipping. I also read through the thread here showing the different custom settings which is a pretty neat feature.

I will say that people really here trust the Finnex brand though. I don't doubt that it would be a good choice and if I remember correctly it's a bit higher PAR than the others. I've also heard the Double Bright is lacking in the red spectrum but not sure how valid that claim is...

Just my thoughts since no one has answered yet but I'm sure more experienced LED-ers will chime in. Bottom line: I think all three are going to get you around the same lighting so the choice will depend on price and other features of the fixture.


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## concepts88 (Oct 4, 2012)

Double bright s not that bright. Marineland fixtures have the widest spread though on the light. I own both manufacturers.


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## apoxin (Aug 6, 2013)

jpappy789 said:


> I don't have experience with the two but I've been researching LEDs for my 20 long (30" long) and I've looked at both those fixtures and the Current LED+. I'm leaning towards the latter.
> 
> They all seem to have comparable PAR, even at 18", and are really fit for low or low/medium light plants. What really put me over the edge was price. At DrsFostersSmith.com the Current LED+ is on sale for 87.99 with free shipping. I also read through the thread here showing the different custom settings which is a pretty neat feature.
> 
> ...


I'll look into the Current more. On Amazon the price of the Finnex Fugeray is about $87, too. I'm more apprehensive when it comes to the Marineland, though, since it only has eight, albeit larger, white LEDS.

Also, was http://www.current-usa.com/aquarium-led-lights/satellite-freshwater-led-plus#prettyPhoto the Current you were talking about? It seems really interesting. If I can find the PAR ratings and they are anywhere close I'll be really interested--the customizability of the lighting is really cool.


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## apoxin (Aug 6, 2013)

concepts88 said:


> Double bright s not that bright. Marineland fixtures have the widest spread though on the light. I own both manufacturers.


But I'm just not sure that 8 white LEDs will do the trick, especially since I have some floating plants that can block out 3 of the LEDs.


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## concepts88 (Oct 4, 2012)

Make sure you are not looking at the glass disperser which you may be the actual led web judging size. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## apoxin (Aug 6, 2013)

Also, if anybody has information on the warranties of each of the lights
Marineland Double Bright
Finnex Fugeray
Current Satellite Freshwater LED+
I'd really like to know. I believe Finnex has 180 days... it seems kind of short. I'm not sure about the others though.


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

apoxin said:


> I'll look into the Current more. On Amazon the price of the Finnex Fugeray is about $87, too. I'm more apprehensive when it comes to the Marineland, though, since it only has eight, albeit larger, white LEDS.
> 
> Also, was http://www.current-usa.com/aquarium-led-lights/satellite-freshwater-led-plus#prettyPhoto the Current you were talking about? It seems really interesting. If I can find the PAR ratings and they are anywhere close I'll be really interested--the customizability of the lighting is really cool.


Well price might be a wash then depending on how much shipping costs.

That's the fixture I was talking about. The site you linked to has PAR from the manufacturer. At 18" says its 28 which I'm assuming is directly under the fixture.

Fugeray is 30 @ 18"
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=189944 

One big downside of the Current fixture though is that the 24-36" inch model isn't going to cover a full 30" so the sides might be darker. But it does have a 1 yr warranty


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## apoxin (Aug 6, 2013)

I don't think I'll need the edges fully lit,but which would grow plants better? 
I know that the Finnex has a better PAR rating, but the RGBs on the Current may help plant growth a little, I'd think.


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## Current USA (Jun 5, 2013)

Hi Guys,

Current USA has a 1 year limited warranty. We personally Quality Control EACH individual unit and do fairly intensive testing before we launch any product. For the Satellite LED+ after selling 10's of thousands of units since product launch (April), we've had LESS than 10 product warranties and they were mostly remote issues where we replaced their remotes the next immediate day.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Current USA said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> Current USA has a 1 year limited warranty. We personally Quality Control EACH individual unit and do fairly intensive testing before we launch any product. For the Satellite LED+ after selling 10's of thousands of units since product launch (April), we've had LESS than 10 product warranties and they were mostly remote issues where we replaced their remotes the next immediate day.


Really blow me away.. tell me your using high quality capacitors.. 
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2306251


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## apoxin (Aug 6, 2013)

What about Finnex Ray2? It seems to have much higher PAR ratings than the other lights I've been talking about... but how will it translate to plant growth?


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

The Ray 2 has good PAR which means I would think it would translate to good growth if you provide the other parts of the puzzle (carbon, ferts). But it gravitates to more "medium" light, even at 18", which none of your current plants need. I also don't think they have a 30" fixture...? But if you want to upgrade the plants you have it might not be a bad idea.


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## Fiftymeatballs (Mar 30, 2011)

By taking a non scientific approach I'd like to point something out. 
Out of the three brands Finnex (fugeray2) seems to be the only brand actually advertising for exceptional freshwater plant growth. 
Current's light in my opinion is all about the remote and how many bright colors and lightning strike features you can scare your fish with. Marinelands double bright is not meant for plants at all just by taking a glance at the light spectrum on the box, it has a high spike in the blue but the majority of the light given off is unusable yellow and greens. Plants are green because they bounce green off their leaves. 

From a scientific approach has anyone tried researching the PUR ratings of these lights, seems there is only talk about PAR. The manufacturers typically only give PAR ratings since its much easier to measure but PUR is equally if not more important than PAR. 

Just my two cents


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## apoxin (Aug 6, 2013)

Fiftymeatballs said:


> By taking a non scientific approach I'd like to point something out.
> Out of the three brands Finnex (fugeray2) seems to be the only brand actually advertising for exceptional freshwater plant growth.
> Current's light in my opinion is all about the remote and how many bright colors and lightning strike features you can scare your fish with. Marinelands double bright is not meant for plants at all just by taking a glance at the light spectrum on the box, it has a high spike in the blue but the majority of the light given off is unusable yellow and greens. Plants are green because they bounce green off their leaves.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the input. And jpappy, I've just bought the Finnex Ray II since it'll most likely work better for plants that require bright light. All I need now is one of those DIY CO2 generators and some fertilizer


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## Fiftymeatballs (Mar 30, 2011)

You could always suspend it further from the top of your tank if you need to dim it down. 

I am running 2 TMC growbeam ultima 1500 Led's and man they are strong. I am still trying to find the right height above my tank for optimal conditions. 

Good luck !


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

Fiftymeatballs, I do think the Finnex fixtures (Fugeray and Ray2) might be better for the plants themselves, even if the PAR is comparable, as they are certainly marketed for plants/corals and people do well with them.

I'm not totally sold on PUR and how much of a difference it really makes. Right now I know that personally I'm happy enough knowing I don't need to deal with the stupid watts/gal measurements anymore. But that may be for a different discussion.

The tradeoffs between price, PAR, and other features leads me to the LED+....just me though.



apoxin said:


> Thanks for the input. And jpappy, I've just bought the Finnex Ray II since it'll most likely work better for plants that require bright light. All I need now is one of those DIY CO2 generators and some fertilizer


Good choice either way. People seem to do well with that fixture.

A pretty easy way to make a "DIY CO2 generator" is a 2L bottle, yeast, sugar, tubing, and water. Definitely don't waste the money on any pre packaged product, if that is what you were referring to...


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## Fiftymeatballs (Mar 30, 2011)

I highly recommend this article linked below if your on the market to buy a light for your planted or reef aquarium. It's chock full of everything you need to know. 

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/aquarium_lighting.html


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## Jomamma (Aug 7, 2013)

*led lighting*

I am new to the hobby and just purchased the Current satellite LED 36in fixture with remote. My tank is a 40 breeder and seems to light the tank well. The research I did says it will work fine up to 18in depth. I have had the fixture for 2 weeks and so far so good.


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## Notorious93 (Jun 3, 2013)

Hehe I have two 16" Ray2's over my 6 gallon tank at around 9inch depth to the substrate. Easily over 100par. My plants with high lights, high co2, and high frets grow on super steroids. 

That being said I still want the satellite+ for aesthetic reasons but par reading wouldn't be sufficient for what I want. If you can get a temporary lighting or buy some ray2s off craigslist and wait till current usa comes out with their high par satellite+. Then you get the best of both worlds


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