# If you buy a LED lighting among these, Which one..



## dart8888 (Oct 22, 2013)

I just made 30"(w) * 12.5(d) * 18(h) vivarium.
And I need a LED lighting.

I bought a jungle down LED last time for my other tank.
However, this time I want to try other kind.

I searched amazon.
And I was come up with these thing.

Please let me know which one is the best one among these
If you know other LED better than those, please let me know.


Thank you.

1.Amazon.com: Finnex FugeRay Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights, 30-Inch: Pet Supplies

2.Amazon.com: Fuloon 12V Multiple Color 30CM 21 X 5050 LED IR LED STRIP LIGHT Aquarium Lighting Fish Tank Light: Musical Instruments

3.Amazon.com: Marineland Single Bright LED Lighting System 24-36-Inch: Pet Supplies

4.Amazon.com: Finnex Ray2 Aquarium LED Daylight, 18-Inch: Pet Supplies

5.Amazon.com: Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights, 16-Inch: Pet Supplies


By the way, do you think it is cheaper or better quality to buy from petco or petsmart than Online(amazon, ebay)?


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## B-NICE (Jul 15, 2011)

You should find out how bright each light is. I didn't see anything stating the lumens. I would look for a beam works light. I sell bulbs if you're ever interested here's a video of my light. It has 7500 lumens. The video does it no justice. 

Lecu row's LIGHT!!! - YouTube


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## diggenem (Sep 2, 2011)

Well I don't know about the rest of them but the Marineland Single Bright will do nothing for plants. Its not that bright and definitely will not provide adequate light at 18". 

Sent from my hlte using Tapatalk


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## zreedman (Apr 8, 2006)

Hello,

I recently purchased an LED fixture for my vivarium from amazon:

Amazon.com: Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus Light for Aquarium, 24 to 36-Inch: Pet Supplies

Very pleased with it. It has pre programed weather simulations. I make a lightning storm when I mist. It's a good value i think. 

Good Luck.


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## jaybugg13 (Dec 9, 2013)

Not 100% sure this is allowed, but here is a link to a list of common LED fixtures and their strength. LED Lighting Compendium. If it's not I'll take the post down, but if you google 'planted tank led compendium' you should be able to find it. All the listings have par levels for the led fixtures so you can get a really good idea of the real light levels.


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## inka4040 (Oct 14, 2010)

Big fan of the finnex ray II series. They have lumen output charts on their site. Slick looking, cool running, and very well made fixtures.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Home - Simple LED Lighting Systems LLC

I get mine from here. Mike is local, a frogger and all around nice guy to deal with


light up a tank pretty nicely too



thts 4 LED daylights on my 30x18x18


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## Dale D (Apr 22, 2012)

inka4040 said:


> Big fan of the finnex ray II series. They have lumen output charts on their site. Slick looking, cool running, and very well made fixtures.


I've got a couple of these in 48" over one of my tanks.


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

PAR data is available for most of the finnex fixtures. 

The safe bet would be the ray 2 as it should have enough light. The planted plus would be worth a look as I like the color it renders better. However if you want more light from it you will end up needing to purchase a second one. 

Personally I would get the planted plus and see how it goes.


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## ndame88 (Sep 24, 2010)

Finnex Planted plus


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## Ray (May 12, 2009)

Why would you use a light intended for aquariums for a non-aquatic application? Water affects the wavelengths reaching the submerged plants, so the spectrum is adjusted accordingly.

That PAR data is either BS, is really PPFD, or just isn't correct.

PAR is a summation of the photons between 400 & 700 nm hitting the plant over a daylight cycle, not an intensity measurement.

PPFD - photosynthetic photon flux density - expressed as µ-mol/sq. m/sec is the "intensity" measurement. Technically, to determine the PAR value that a plant is receiving, you take that PPFD, multiply it by the surface area of the leaves, and multiply it again by the time of exposure. From a practical perspective, consideration of intensity and time can be used without worrying about the surface area. If you have two lights with some variance between them in intensity, you can adjust to "on" time to compensate - up to a limit, since all plants need some nighttime, too.

Also - when you see a recommendation that such-and-such a plant needs a certain intensity (this is often the case with orchids), we need to understand that the number is the peak intensity the plant will see with natural sunlight at noon, and NOT what it should get all day. It starts at zero, goes to the max, then drops to zero. If you are using artificial light left on at a constant flux, consider cutting back the intensity to about 2/3 of that peak recommendation.


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## jaybugg13 (Dec 9, 2013)

Ray said:


> Why would you use a light intended for aquariums for a non-aquatic application? Water affects the wavelengths reaching the submerged plants, so the spectrum is adjusted accordingly.
> 
> That PAR data is either BS, is really PPFD, or just isn't correct.


I think when comparing many of the led fixtures in the aquarium market, especially those aimed at freshwater planted tanks, you see many of the same light characteristics of other more standard sources of light for vivarium use. Most of the color temps are between 6500 and 10k and most of them have a decent if not fantastic spectral distribution. Now compared to led fixtures that are aim at grow houses and such I agree there is a massive difference, but I really don't see anything in a finnex or current USA led fixture that would suggest it can't be used effectively on a vivarium. In fact most of the data sheet list the output spectrum rather than the spectrum as measured in water.

Also I have to disagree about par. I know it's not as accurate scientifically as PPFD, however it's a very big advancement from lumen output or watts per gallon etc. In the planted tank hobby especially it's been remarkably useful to help hobbyists have a quantifiable unit of light at a given depth of water which produces far better guidelines for creating planted displays that are stable and algae free. That said I'm really not sure what applicability that has to vivariums. It would be nice to know how much light the tanks on the forum are getting rather than just the fixture that's used.


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## dart8888 (Oct 22, 2013)

Thank you for replies.

I think most of you prefer ray 2 and/or planted plus.
So I decided to buy one of them.

By the way,
Is $91.96 the price for just one of the fixture or two of the fixtures.
Amazon.com: Finnex Ray2 Aquarium LED Daylight, 18-Inch: Pet Supplies

The image shows two of the fixtures, so I'm little confusing.


And..
I got an interest for current USA one for zreedman's good review.
Multi functions things are looks cool.
Amazon.com: Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus Light for Aquarium, 24 to 36-Inch: Pet Supplies

Is there big performance difference between the current USA one and the Finnex one.


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## B-NICE (Jul 15, 2011)

I haven't planted my tank or used the light in my video yet, but my friend has a weaker one than what I have. His plants are doing pretty good.


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## jaybugg13 (Dec 9, 2013)

I've had both the finnex and the currentUSA Satellite plus. I like the Satellite + a bit better because it's a bit sleeker, the light modes are very cool and I had some flicker issues in a finnex. Also the remote let's me do cool things to automate the Satellite + .


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

dart8888 said:


> I just made 30"(w) * 12.5(d) * 18(h) vivarium.
> And I need a LED lighting.
> 
> I bought a jungle down LED last time for my other tank.
> ...


1. Meh might be enough but probably a bit on the blue looking side
2. This is just an led strip mounted in a metal or plastic housing. It is best used for mood lighting, tuning the overall color to suit your preference or FX lighting, but in theory enough of them could work. You can buy 5m long rolls of this with a 44 key remote and ac adapter for the price they are asking for the one you linked to. Amazon.com: SUPERNIGHT 16.4ft 5M Waterproof Flexible strip 300leds Color Changing RGB SMD5050 LED Light Strip Kit RGB 5M +44Key Remote+12V 5A Power Supply: Home Improvement (But this is kinda a silly way to try and light an viv, save this stuff for mood/fx lighting)

3. Probably not enough... better lights out there for similar cost. 

4. I assume you meant the 30 inch verson, not the 18 you listed, but this is 5 watts more then number 1 so would likely be a better choice for that size vivarium. Might still be on the blue side for my tastes though.

5. Right off hand this is probably the one I would go with out of those you listed. Heard good things about how these look, but I'd have to watch some vids and ideally see one in real life before I could be certain the color would look good for a viv. 

6. The current usa satellite + that someone mentioned is another possible option. The problem is the 18watt 24”-36” one is actually 22 inches long, so it might not be long enough to get good coverage. You could raise the light up for better coverage but then you'd loose intensity. The 36"-48" is actually 34" long, so it would hang over 2 inches on each side, but would likely be plenty bright with good coverage. So you might find you need some back up with the shorter version, but if you can live with the 2" hangover, I'd get this one for the cool FX... or you can hold out for Current's sister company Ecoxotica's E-series RGBW, which is a satellite + on steroids...
Ecoxotic teases new E-Series RGBW LED striplight and inline controller



Build my LED Freshwater lights in the 5000k-7000K range are another option, or you can try your hand at making a custom spectrum with their config tool...
Freshwater - Build My LED, LLC

As for where to buy from... any reputable place or amazon/ebay seller that happens to have the best price + shipping would be my suggestion.



Ray said:


> Why would you use a light intended for aquariums for a non-aquatic application? Water affects the wavelengths reaching the submerged plants, so the spectrum is adjusted accordingly.
> 
> That PAR data is either BS, is really PPFD, or just isn't correct.
> 
> ...





jaybugg13 said:


> I think when comparing many of the led fixtures in the aquarium market, especially those aimed at freshwater planted tanks, you see many of the same light characteristics of other more standard sources of light for vivarium use. Most of the color temps are between 6500 and 10k and most of them have a decent if not fantastic spectral distribution. Now compared to led fixtures that are aim at grow houses and such I agree there is a massive difference, but I really don't see anything in a finnex or current USA led fixture that would suggest it can't be used effectively on a vivarium. In fact most of the data sheet list the output spectrum rather than the spectrum as measured in water.
> 
> Also I have to disagree about par. I know it's not as accurate scientifically as PPFD, however it's a very big advancement from lumen output or watts per gallon etc. In the planted tank hobby especially it's been remarkably useful to help hobbyists have a quantifiable unit of light at a given depth of water which produces far better guidelines for creating planted displays that are stable and algae free. That said I'm really not sure what applicability that has to vivariums. It would be nice to know how much light the tanks on the forum are getting rather than just the fixture that's used.


Ray's points seem valid, but overall I'm gonna have to side with Jay here. In practical use many if not most of these 5000K-7000K "Freshwater" aquarium lights look pretty much like the "Daylight" or "Full spectrum" CFL's, t-5 or Jungle dawns/grow n glows people are using now on vivs. I think until zoomed/exoterra or other companies come out with better LED's for Vivariums there will be a lot of cross over between the freshwater hobby and ours... probably will always be in fact. I've mentioned to finnex, current, and buildmyled they should look at our hobby and the rest of the herp hobbies to expand their market... Hopefully they'll listen, and make exoterra/zoomed get off their butts and start giving us better options. Zoomed does have a new LED/t-5 combo coming out though... 
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/168890-dendro-daves-vivarium-tech-finds.html

Now if you're talking reef lighting, then I totally agree... It generally looks like crap on a viv with it's spectrums so skewed towards the blue. 

As for Par and/or PPFD, that's cool for those of us that like to learn about that stuff, but it's kinda complicated for some people. Frankly when I account for optics, or just the more focused light of LED's (since most of them all point down unlike a CFL or t-5 bulb that radiates around itself), I find the watts per gallon guidelines still pretty useful for standard sized aquariums up to 75gal. After that I'm less confident in my ability to guestimate, but just saying .75-1.5 watts of LED lighting or 2-4 watts CFL/T-5 lighting per gal is easier for many people to wrap their minds around then PAR/PPFD. It tends to get them in the ballpark at least.

I'm not saying that other stuff isn't better, but for many people it's just kinda intimidating.


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## dart8888 (Oct 22, 2013)

Wow. Thank you very much for good information!


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

Ray said:


> Why would you use a light intended for aquariums for a non-aquatic application? Water affects the wavelengths reaching the submerged plants, so the spectrum is adjusted accordingly.
> 
> That PAR data is either BS, is really PPFD, or just isn't correct.
> 
> ...


For our purposes this is what the planted tank community and reef communities are going off of. First its correctness in nomenclature may or may not be correct but it matters not because here we are trying to apply information. Thus far no one outside of this PAR data has presented a widely used and better useful measure. 

Second at the depths of water used in aquariums with the sensitivity of measuring devices used people have not detected a significant difference. Many of these measurements are actually taken in air for practical reasons. 

The day cycle in your tank can be altered therefore these data and recommendations are the best information we have to go off of and they work pretty well in water or air as the best jumping off point, from there you can tweak your day cycle or break it up if you have too much or too little light. 

That said I have made calls in the past for the makers of lights targeted at vivariums to step up their game and produce this or better data and so far it has fallen on deaf ears so I will go with the best data we have. I can say I and others have bought finnex if for nothing else their PAR data is good and its one of the few companies that allows us to do the calculations to see how different lights will add together and overlap. And while that may be complicated for some, those of us who do not have a problem with it will often relay the information to others. It feeds back to them and helps all of us.


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## npaull (May 8, 2005)

> Home - Simple LED Lighting Systems LLC
> 
> I get mine from here. Mike is local, a frogger and all around nice guy to deal with
> 
> ...


frogparty can you post pics of the actual lights themselves?


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## Reburn (Mar 29, 2014)

Home - Build My LED.

They are definitely not the cheapest but they make some of the finest aquarium lights.

One thing you won't find on their site is they also build lights for horticulute and more specifically orchid growers. Just call and talk to them and they can get you set up with an orchid grow LED instead of a freshwater specific lamp. They have the highest PAR values per LED/fixture and you will most likely need a dimmer with your order.


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## leona912 (Apr 3, 2014)

My first post here, just have one question, is there anyone thinking of using waterproof LED strips to be a aquarium lights. For example like using this blue light for aquarium? Are LED strips good enough to be aquarium lights? I am thinking do this, so just need some suggestion,


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## T2theG (Jul 6, 2013)

jaybugg13 said:


> I've had both the finnex and the currentUSA Satellite plus. I like the Satellite + a bit better because it's a bit sleeker, the light modes are very cool and I had some flicker issues in a finnex. Also the remote let's me do cool things to automate the Satellite + .


Have you seen this timer that is available for the fixtures? It simulates a sunrise and sunset effect.







I'm thinking of ordering the 24" model and the timer for one of my vivs to try it out.


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## T2theG (Jul 6, 2013)

Never mind, after some more research i found that this ramp timer does not work with the Satellite + models. The Satellite + models already have controller that will conflict with the ramp timer.


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## jaybugg13 (Dec 9, 2013)

T2theG said:


> Have you seen this timer that is available for the fixtures? It simulates a sunrise and sunset effect.
> 
> Amazon.com: Current USA Single Ramp Timer for Aquarium: Pet Supplies
> 
> ...


I sure have, but I decided to just hack the IR remote and run a rasberry PI to control the lights! A bit more complicated than the ramp timers but I also am automating a humidifier and mister so it was worth it for me. I haven't used the ramp timers, but generally after years of working with current USA I can say they make quality products and for a plug and play solution I'd certainly pick up the ramp timer. If you want to get really fancy and also have clouds/storms on the schedule you could look at a ramp timer pro too.


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## jaybugg13 (Dec 9, 2013)

T2theG said:


> Never mind, after some more research i found that this ramp timer does not work with the Satellite + models. The Satellite + models already have controller that will conflict with the ramp timer.


I think they work but the ramp timer cannot program all of the modes the satellite plus can do. You could just go for tru lumen strips though which are fully compatible with either the ramp timer or the ramp timer pro. The true lumen pro are pretty powerful and run $45 for the 24 inch model. Throw on a ramp or ramp pro and you've got a satellite + (minus some of the modes).


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

leona912 said:


> My first post here, just have one question, is there anyone thinking of using waterproof LED strips to be a aquarium lights. For example like using this blue light for aquarium? Are LED strips good enough to be aquarium lights? I am thinking do this, so just need some suggestion,


Check this out...
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...um-storm-weather-fx-idea-resource-thread.html

The more simple 24 or 44 key rgb strips are cheaper and will give good mood lighting, or color tuning daylight spectrum capability, or even use a music controller and have them flash to thunder sounds, but they aren't very practical for lighting an entire tank. Costs have come down on led fixture enough that there is probably a better way available to you for whatever size tank you have, but it could be used as i've mentioned or just to add a bit more light if your fixture isn't quite enough.



T2theG said:


> Never mind, after some more research i found that this ramp timer does not work with the Satellite + models. The Satellite + models already have controller that will conflict with the ramp timer.


Actually the Dual ramp timer works pretty good to add the 24 hour timed sunrise/sunset ability. But ya the pro is fairly useless, and the single I don't think does enough to justify spending extra money on it. 

Ramp Timer Compatibility with Satellite LED Plus | Current-USA

The new beefed up version of the + with dynamic modes, and the build my led controller are other options that might be more flexible. I'm hoping the ecoxotica's version of the + will correct some of the short commings 
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/168890-dendro-daves-vivarium-tech-finds.html


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