# Best Finnex LED?



## Brennen Atkinson (Feb 14, 2016)

First off, I am new to the forums. I am happy to have found a forum I can use to better my planted aquarium endeavor's. I am starting a 20 gallon long high-tech planted aquarium and am struggling on which is the best LED to use.

I had a 55 gallon aquarium that did awesome last year, I had to move out of state and it was sold unfortunately. However, I am back and will be setting up this 20 gallon. 

Its measurements are the typical 20 gallon long;
WIDTH 30"
DEPTH 12"
HEIGHT 12"

NOTE: I plan on this tank being High-Tech. 

I have been doing independent research on the brand Finnex and their LED lighting options.

FugeRay Planted +, 24/7 and their Ray 2. Do you guys have any opinions on these and have a good idea on which would be best for my tank. I have done some math and have figured that with the light on my tank, 2 1/2 inches of substrate it will only need to penetrate 10" inches of water to saturate the substrate with light. 

Opinions and thoughts are appreciated, I will be ordering all of this stuff shortly and want to cross my T's and dot my I's. 

Thanks!!


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## aja31 (May 25, 2013)

They will all work. The planted plus and 24/7 have more red (660nm) LED's and will probably be a little better than the older Ray 2 at this point. 

The 24/7 and the planted+ are pretty similar, the biggest difference is the controller on the 24/7 lets you dim the light or run the 24/7 cycle. The 24/7 cycle only gives max PAR for a few hours, so it might not be enough light depending on how fast you want things to grow. 

If you want a totally controllable light then you will have to look outside of the Finnex fixtures.


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## King Tetra (Sep 7, 2015)

I always recommend the ray 2 over the 24/7, because in my opinion, I'd rather run a timer and an led lighting system with full power than have maximum par only for a couple hours. Especially if you're planning on this being a high tech tank


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## Mikevwall (Jul 27, 2015)

Build your own!


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## King Tetra (Sep 7, 2015)

DIY works too! I did a diy light system that blows finnex par rating out of the water! Cost me about 30 bucks..


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## Dannyul (Jun 3, 2013)

Hi there, 

I have found with only a 12" deep tank (in which you say 10" will be water) then a Ray2 will be too strong. I switched to a Planted+ 24/7 so that I could reduce the light intensity. With a Ray2 on your tank, you will notice excessive algae growth even if you do maintain it often and it's a high tech tank. Personally if I were you, I would go for the 24/7 as you have a wide array of options you can choose from. I stick mine on a timer and run it at the intensity I find works best for both the plants and visuals.. and to keep as much algae as possible at bay. 

Although if you find that you want the Ray2, you can always suspend the light a little higher above the tank using some sort of mounts / brackets if you notice undesirable algae growth. 

I hope that helps,
Dan


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