What’s the best bang for the buck light now?

[sayurasem]

Hi guys I’ve been out of the hobby for the past couple of years and need some recommendations on what brand of light fixtures. The last light fixture I bought was a Finnex Ray 2 from a group buy here. My setup will be a regular 20 gallon long 30” I believe. Will have crypts and dwarf hair grass.
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

[Kole85]

Hi guys I’ve been out of the hobby for the past couple of years and need some advice/ opinions on what brand of light fixtures. The last light fixture I bought was a Finnex Ray 2 from a group buy here. My setup will be a regular 20 gallon long 30” I believe. Will have crypts and dwarf hair grass.
Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

If your looking for similar to the ray2, try out the Chihiros A Series. I still love my Fugeray Planted Plus for midtech and low tech

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[Zenzu]

Chihiros, da f spec or off brand like nicrew/coodia.

[Nick Shades]

Chihiros are pretty sweet, but i have been really impressed with the wifi fluval planted 3.0. I don't own it yet, but it has an amazing warranty and review base.

[SCas]

I have a nicrew and its growing a carpet on my 10g

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[craycrayfish]

I have a nicrew and its growing a carpet on my 10g

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I second this, i have 2 over my 12 g and i dont dose (aside from excel) or co2,

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[hakoomay]

I'm running a 20" Finnex Stingray on my 10g Walmtad-Inspired tank. lights it up well and plants are loving' it! They make sizes of it, and relatively cheap; you can run two of them if you need more light at their price point.

Edit: just saw the price eon amazon, nvm on getting two lol. I that point I'd jump on a Nicrew light setup!

[darkmark]

Chihiros are pretty sweet, but i have been really impressed with the wifi fluval planted 3.0. I don't own it yet, but it has an amazing warranty and review base.

Fully agree - I'd say if Aesthetics are a top priority, go with Chihiros. If you're looking for more control, and a better color spectrum, go with the 3.0. I just wish the 3.0 had more of the "ADA" look.

[tippy4]

Anybody running Nicrew lights over a lidless tank in excess of 30"?

Nicrew does not recommend using their lights over lidless tanks.

[DesertPupfish]

Good question. If it's that susceptible to humidity, one wonders how well made it is.

I have a Beamswork DA over my 55 gallon for 7 months now, and it's been fine. Though I'm told the cheaper brands lose brightness pretty quickly because the power packs get defective.

The Fluval Planted is impressive, but for the larger sizes (currently looking for a 48" model for my new 75g) the lumen rating isn't all that impressive. It seems like the smaller versions pack in lots of lumen for their size, but the larger ones they just stretch out and they don't put out much more light than the smaller ones. Given that a 48" Fluval Planted only has 4250 lumens for $209, I'm wondering if I'd be better off just getting two Beamswork DA that put out 5200 lumens for $70 each--so you''d get 10400 lumens for $140 compared to $209 for the same sized Fluval. Of course the light quality is probably more pleasing, and you've got the fancy bluetooth to program it, but in terms of bang for the buck, you gotta wonder....

[Swank]

Good question. If it's that susceptible to humidity, one wonders how well made it is.

I have a Beamswork DA over my 55 gallon for 7 months now, and it's been fine. Though I'm told the cheaper brands lose brightness pretty quickly because the power packs get defective.

The Fluval Planted is impressive, but for the larger sizes (currently looking for a 48" model for my new 75g) the lumen rating isn't all that impressive. It seems like the smaller versions pack in lots of lumen for their size, but the larger ones they just stretch out and they don't put out much more light than the smaller ones. Given that a 48" Fluval Planted only has 4250 lumens for $209, I'm wondering if I'd be better off just getting two Beamswork DA that put out 5200 lumens for $70 each--so you''d get 10400 lumens for $140 compared to $209 for the same sized Fluval. Of course the light quality is probably more pleasing, and you've got the fancy bluetooth to program it, but in terms of bang for the buck, you gotta wonder....

Lumens aren’t a factor in light selection when it comes to plants, lumens is a measurement of how much light the human eye processes (yellow I think?). At least that’s how I understand it.

[zipmaiflai]

I look on ebay for used Beamsworks from this guy called topdogsellers or something like that. Good deal, and mines is growing dwarf hair grass in my 20 long without CO2 and even needs to be lifted on the stand since it is too bright. Chihiros are nice, but when I last looked, I couldn't find that many for a good deal. Do you search those on ebay too? Or maybe ali express?

[Nick Shades]

I've purchased from top dog in the past multiple times. He once sent me the wrong light and then let me keep it and sent me the additional correct one.

[DesertPupfish]

I bought a 36" Beamswork for my 55g from TopDog as well. Another issue I've seen in the reviews for Beamsworks is that the power supply can crap out over time and lower the amount of light they produce. It's not visible, but the plants stop doing as well. Has anyone else experienced this?

[tippy4]

Good question. If it's that susceptible to humidity, one wonders how well made it is.

I have a Beamswork DA over my 55 gallon for 7 months now, and it's been fine. Though I'm told the cheaper brands lose brightness pretty quickly because the power packs get defective.

The Fluval Planted is impressive, but for the larger sizes (currently looking for a 48" model for my new 75g) the lumen rating isn't all that impressive. It seems like the smaller versions pack in lots of lumen for their size, but the larger ones they just stretch out and they don't put out much more light than the smaller ones. Given that a 48" Fluval Planted only has 4250 lumens for $209, I'm wondering if I'd be better off just getting two Beamswork DA that put out 5200 lumens for $70 each--so you''d get 10400 lumens for $140 compared to $209 for the same sized Fluval. Of course the light quality is probably more pleasing, and you've got the fancy bluetooth to program it, but in terms of bang for the buck, you gotta wonder....

I am actually running a 36" Fluval 3.0 light on the tank in question alongside a Current USA LED (not sure of the model).

Fluval in front, Current in the back....tank is 18" tall and 18" front-to-back.

You would not believe how much brighter the Fluval is.

[aizend]

I used a diy floodlight on amazon with 6000k and a cable. I feel like it works pretty well. However, I am a newbie so I do not know if it is good. How much better are the pros light compare to mine?

[Nick Shades]

I used a diy floodlight on amazon with 6000k and a cable. I feel like it works pretty well. However, I am a newbie so I do not know if it is good. How much better are the pros light compare to mine?

It all comes down to par, at the end of the day. The only reliable way of doing that is to measure it wth a par meter.

[Redchigh]

Mostly only an issue of visible light.
Spotlights can grow plants pretty well, their CRI (color rendering) and efficiency aren't that great, but they make up for it with plentiful, relatively cheap sheer power.
If good growth for as cheap as possible is your goal, they're good. I have a 30 flood on my 20 tall.

[supperfish]

Nicrew SkyLED plus is the best and cheapest. See the comparison table of different brands: https://portlandaquarium.net/planted...ium-led-light/