# Unsure of which Finnex Ray/Marineland double bright to buy



## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Have you considered knock-off Double Bright fixtures from eBay or another site? May be a viable option.

I use several different lengths of the Double Bright fixture with no complaints at all, aside from price.


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## nokturnalkid (Apr 3, 2007)

I have a ray2 and I love it, espescially for the price. If i were you do end up getting a higher intensity light, just raise the fixture up a bit. There's a bunch of diy light hangers using electrical conduit. Then you can dial in whatever intensity you want. On some fixtures, you may have to mod the housing a bit just to hang it. That is what I am going to do with my ray2. I already opened it up to see if I could drill a couple holes the be able to hang the light.


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## spidernids (Jun 22, 2012)

What did you end up deciding?


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## tobystanton (Jun 27, 2012)

You can Dial the light intensity down on the ray 2 without damaging it ?


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## TexasCichlid (Jul 12, 2011)

tobystanton said:


> You can Dial the light intensity down on the ray 2 without damaging it ?


Sure. Just raise the fixture up for less light, lower it for more light.


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## temple2101 (Jun 6, 2012)

nokturnalkid said:


> I have a ray2 and I love it, espescially for the price. If i were you do end up getting a higher intensity light, just raise the fixture up a bit. There's a bunch of diy light hangers using electrical conduit. Then you can dial in whatever intensity you want. On some fixtures, you may have to mod the housing a bit just to hang it. That is what I am going to do with my ray2. I already opened it up to see if I could drill a couple holes the be able to hang the light.


Did you figure anything out yet for hanging your Ray 2? I have the same fixture and am at a crossroads with it. I'm using pressurized CO2 and ferts, but I feel this light may just be too much for my 20H. I've got an algae bloom going on and I'm fairly certain it's light related. I'm thinking of hanging it, or swapping it out for a dual T5NO fixture.

OP, in my opinion, if you don't want to mod the Finnex to hang it, it's WAY too much light for low tech as you have already researched. However, if you think one day you may want to go high light/high tech, maybe it would be a good fixture if you can figure out how to hang it. I've got a few ideas but haven't settled on what I want to do...


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## nokturnalkid (Apr 3, 2007)

temple2101 said:


> Did you figure anything out yet for hanging your Ray 2? I have the same fixture and am at a crossroads with it. I'm using pressurized CO2 and ferts, but I feel this light may just be too much for my 20H. I've got an algae bloom going on and I'm fairly certain it's light related. I'm thinking of hanging it, or swapping it out for a dual T5NO fixture.



Yeah, just going to use some emt conduit to hang the light. The fixture itself doesn't allow hanging without some modification. I already disassembled the light and you have more than enough room to drill a few holes into the top of the fixture and screw in some eye bolts.


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## Aquaticz (Dec 26, 2009)

Recently while at a meet I won two LED light fixtures, both by Finnex

I have the 10" fuge Ray & a 24" Ray 2.
I want to sit each fixture right on top of the tank. 

What I would like to know is what size tank would these work well on? I do not plan on CO2 for these tanks. They will probably be set up at work.

for a low light?
for a medium light
for high light?
Thanks for your advice & experience


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## steveg89 (Jun 29, 2012)

nokturnalkid said:


> Yeah, just going to use some emt conduit to hang the light. The fixture itself doesn't allow hanging without some modification. I already disassembled the light and you have more than enough room to drill a few holes into the top of the fixture and screw in some eye bolts.


I simply tied picture hanging wire around each side of the leg inserts. (those pieces that slide into the light and are meant to sit on the rim of the tank) I didn't really wanna tear open my brand new light and void the warranty.


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

spidernids said:


> What did you end up deciding?


Neither - well not yet. Changed the tank to a 36 gallon bow, 20 inch deep (sitting empty in my living room  and the Ray2 seems like it will be too bright.

The new challengers are (both 24") a Finnex FugeRay or a Trulumen 24" strip in 8k sunlight.

FugeRay PAR - between 13 and 22 at the subatrate.
Trulumen PAR - between 30 and 38 at substrate.


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## spidernids (Jun 22, 2012)

that's funny. My first tank is a 36 gallon bow. roud:


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## odie (Dec 29, 2009)

Is their a way to dimm them??


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## jbrady33 (Jun 7, 2012)

Doesn't appear to be dimmable, but I ended up with a 30" fugeray which should be a nice low light leaning toward medium 

Specs posted in the finnex/schubert Wright room


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## PeterN1986 (Jun 15, 2011)

I have a Finnex Ray2 also and I got a bad algae bloom so I cut out two rectangles (24" x 2") and slid them under each leg so that they covered the light output, thus reducing its intensity. You could try the same, it may be a lot easier than rigging a thing to hang it higher. The window screen has been on for about a week and I think I have NOT been getting any new algae.


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## toriless (Jun 4, 2014)

*Lights*

I'd go with Finnex. I switched from an Odyssea Quad to Planted+ and my plants still thrive. Finnex's give you great light compared to most others but they do not dim and thus could not work with a ramp timer even if you changed the the supply cord. I use a Current USA Freshwater LED+ on one of their timers for the sunrise/daytime/sunset light and then run the Finnex for two five hour periods to help the plants grow without algae going nuts. It's slowly getting better. The finnex is about twice as bright as the Current USA Freshwater LED+ just as the PAR numbers would make you think. I think it is also similar to a single T5HO in my Odyssea fixture.

Has anyone modified a Freshwater LED+ to have two lines so one can have moonlights like with their old series. The old series just has no par output worth using. It is dark by comparison. Even a 16" Finnex has a LOT more light then a 36" of their old non-plus series.


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